Midnight Mixup
by toastsnatcher
Summary: Two couples. Two secret meeting places. One big mistake. (COMPLETE) DG
1. Potions

Disclaimer: OBVIOUSLY the characters and place setting are not mine. This is the ultimate disclaimer - the only one you'll see for this story - so you may as well get it into your head that I am not JK Rowling, okay?! Plot's mine, though, as well as any characters you don't recognize.

Author's note: This is sort of a take-off on a Roald Dahl story called "The Great Switcheroo", only in MY story, they don't really mean to have that little embarrassing mix-up. So . . . Hope you like it! Advice is nice, and reviews amuse, so why not review my story? Sorry for a bit of a slow first chapter. It gets interesting in Chapter 2. Wait, why am I apologizing . . ? Anyway, as I write this, I've got 4 chapters written. :D

- - - - - - -  
  
"Good afternoon, class," Professor Snape said, more to the students of his house (Slytherin) than to the unlucky Gryffindors with whom they shared Potions that day. "Today we will be brewing the Attentus potion. Ten house points to whomever can tell me what it does."  
  
Ginny Weasley raised her hand and found hers was the only one raised in the classroom, or rather, dungeon. It was lucky she actually finished the reading last night. Maybe she'd win some house points.  
  
"Yes, Weasley?" Snape snapped, throwing annoyed looks at the Slytherins.  
  
"It increases the attention levels in a person, so they're hyper- alert," Ginny answered.  
  
"Ten points to Gryffindor," said Snape resignedly. "But, incidentally, I shall have to take ten points from Gryffindor for not having your books and other materials out, Weasley."  
  
Having had Snape for more than five years, Ginny had enough sense not to argue. Her fellow Gryffindors muttered in anger and disgust, but no one wanted more points taken away.  
  
Throwing Snape a murderous glance, Ginny resignedly pulled from her bag her materials for class. From her "1001 Magical Herbs and Fungi" textbook fell a triangular, folded-up piece of parchment. Making sure no one saw her, she slipped her hands beneath the table and soundlessly unfolded it. She pretended she was reading the book in her lap, but she read,  
  
_ Tonight. Same time. Same place. - TBWL_  
  
Ginny had to stifle a laugh at the way he signed his note. It was a shortened version of her favorite nickname for him - The Boy Who Lived.  
  
Yes, the inevitable had finally happened, and Ginny and Harry were at last together and dating. She knew she was now Public Enemy #1 to about half the girls at Hogwarts, but Ginny loved being his girlfriend, and not just because of the jealous looks she got so many times a day. Harry was so kind to her, so brave and noble and everything else she'd ever want in a boy. In a man, she corrected herself. Well, nearly one.  
  
Lost once again in thoughts of her favorite hero, it took Ginny a moment to realize that everyone was moving to the front of the classroom to collect ingredients, and that there was a certain teacher's assistant in costly black robes standing in front of her with his usual smirk.  
  
"Reading notes, Weasel?" he drawled lazily. "Thought you were supposed to be the good student."  
  
"Oh, shut up, Malfoy," Ginny spat, hastily shoving Harry's note back into her bag and hoping she wasn't blushing. She pushed past him to join the line of students at Snape's desk, then realized he was behind her again. She set her jaw and prepared herself for any of his typical cracks about the state of the Weasley finances.  
  
"Seems to me that Scarhead should be contributing to the Weasley family fortune," he observed from behind her as the line moved forward. "Oh, wait - is that why you're going out with him? Does he pay you to snog him?"  
  
"Didn't I tell you to shut up?" Ginny hissed, feeling brave.  
  
"Yes, but I believe the real question is, do I really care what you tell me to do?" he pondered slowly. "Add a bit more powdered root of asphodel," he muttered to a fellow Slytherin. As the TA, Malfoy's main job was to ensure that all the Slytherins brewed their potions perfectly, and that all Gryffindors' errors were to be pointed out and laughed at.  
  
Choosing not to answer his question, Ginny collected her ingredients and walked quickly back to her cauldron, head high in the air. Nothing Malfoy could say could bother her, except perhaps calling her Weasel. "This from the boy who was once an actual rodent," Ginny thought, her eyes narrowing as she crushed her beetle heads, imagining each one to be Malfoy's face. "Take that, Malfoy's stupid face . . . though it's not, in and of itself, a horrible-looking thing," she had to admit to herself.  
  
Ginny brewed her potion perfectly, if only to annoy Malfoy. He began to whisper something very probably insulting at her as she practically ran out of the dungeons, but she paid him no attention. He wasn't worth anybody's_. No wonder he has no girlfriend_, Ginny sniggered to herself. Over the past few years she'd realized that Malfoy's constant bullying was not worth her time at all. Finally, she'd gotten her priorities straight, she thought to herself, smiling. Well, hopefully. It rather seemed as if she'd blown the whole Harry thing out of proportion - he was in her thoughts all day long - but that was love, wasn't it?  
  
After quickly throwing her bag onto her bed in the dormitory, Ginny joined her fellow Hogwarts students in the Great Hall for a delicious dinner of grilled chicken and salad. She slipped into her usual seat between Harry and her best friend, Isabelle Levy.  
  
"Ah, here she is," announced Harry. "Shh, don't tell her we were just talking about her."  
  
Ginny rolled her eyes dramatically. "Right, Scarhead," she drawled lazily in an uncanny imitation of Malfoy. Harry laughed and gently took her hand beneath the table. She smiled at him, then asked him how his day was, shivering at his beautiful green eyes. They sparkled brightly at her.  
  
"It was all right, I guess," he answered, then whispered, "It's the nights I look forward to . . ."  
  
Ginny pretended to look shocked. "Harry Potter!" Then she lowered her voice and muttered, "Got your note." They winked at each other, then turned to join the heated argument about whether or not house-elves should be paid.  
  
" 'Udge gib ib ub, 'Er-my-nee," Ron said with his mouth full of chicken. He swallowed. "Haven't we been through this before? Enough _spew_!"  
  
"It's not 'spew'," Hermione said patiently through her teeth. "It's S-P-E- W, as you should know by now. By the way, why aren't you wearing your S.P.E.W. badge? Look, Ron, if you don't stick up for these house-elves-"  
  
"Then nobody will," finished Ron dully. "Lost my badge, as well as any interest in spew. Pass the ranch dressing?"  
  
Dinner passed as usual, with discussion about Quidditch and classes, and they all returned to the common room for either homework or chess, depending on the amount of procrastination. Ginny's eyes constantly darted to the clock, wishing it would hurry up and be midnight already. Colin Creevey had challenged her to a game of chess, which she thought would pass the time quickly. As it turned out it slowed it down quite a bit.  
  
"What're you looking at the clock so much for?" Colin Creevey asked her. His knight took one of her pawns, yelling something extremely rude as he kicked the pawn off the board. "Shut it, you," Colin chastised his overly enthusiastic knight.  
  
"Oh, nothing," Ginny lied. "I just want to get to bed early tonight."  
  
"It's ten," Colin pointed out.  
  
"I _know_ how to tell time," Ginny snorted. "Might as well go up to my dormitory once I win."  
  
"You'll be down here for a very long time, then," said Colin seriously as his loud knight took her rook. "Checkmate."  
  
Ginny scowled dramatically. "Right, I'll just be going to bed now, then. I'll win tomorrow, mark my words!" Colin tried not to snicker as he wished her good night. Ginny passed a few more of her fellow fifth-years as she made her way to her dormitory, half thankful and half disappointed she didn't have any more homework to keep her busy.  
  
Harry had Astronomy that night, and that didn't end until midnight. His note had indicated that they meet in their usual secret place, the sixth classroom to the left from the statue of Boris the Bewildered. Not many teachers patrolled that area, and they figured it was safe enough for private talks or, as it usually turned out to be, kisses. Which was why Ginny kept such an anxious eye on her watch; finally, it was 11:30, and she figured she had better make her way to their favorite place in Hogwarts. 


	2. Kisses

Author's Note: Right, now that the introduction to the story is out of the way, we can finally have some action. As always, advice is nice and reviews amuse, so review please!

- - - - - - -  
  
Ginny walked quickly toward portrait hole past some third-year insomniacs, who were playing Gobstones with some fifth-years.  
  
"Where're you going this late?" her friend Isabelle Algovale demanded as her opponent got sprayed in the face with something smelling very nasty.  
  
"Never you mind," Ginny replied lamely, unable to think of a suitable excuse. "Well, I, er, left something important in the classroom," she said hastily to avoid suspicion. Too late.  
  
"Oh," Isabelle said, raising an eyebrow. "Right. Well, don't get caught. Say hi to Harry for me."  
  
Ginny grinned and clambered out of the portrait hole after looking carefully both ways. She slipped, successfully undetected and unhindered, down several flights of stairs and through two corridors. There was a tense moment when Peeves was singing, "Oh, his eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad . . ." in the trophy room, but Ginny scampered lightly past and found the statue of Boris the Bewildered. She began to count the classrooms. "One, two, three . . ."  
  
Glancing at her watch, she noted that she was fifteen minutes early. Grinning with the thought of surprising Harry, she reached her destination, turned the handle, and stepped into the dark classroom.  
  
She let out a small yelp, but then realized she had stepped into Harry's arms. She laughed quietly, then shut and locked the door softly behind her and met his silent kiss.  
  
Sometimes she had to guide his hands back to her back, but his kisses were gentle and passionate. She sensed a need, an aloneness, which she had never felt from him before. Maybe he was opening up to her, showing her his true heart and feelings. She kissed tenderly back, offering him her love, trying to tell him through her kiss that she would always be there for him.  
  
After a while, they stopped kissing and held each other without a word, side by side on the floor on their cloaks. Ginny had informed him at the beginning of their relationship that she refused to do anything further than kiss him, and she trusted him implicitly. His arms felt warm and protective around her, as if to tell her right back that he would always be there for her. 

Still she felt as if he was expressing some sort of need for her, a loneliness, an insecurity, and she longed to make him feel better. Ginny hoped he had finally opened himself to her fully, showing her the person beneath the reluctant hero. She clung to him, listening to his deep, rhythmic breaths, and felt her own heart beating in synchronization to his. She knew that this memory would last her a thousand lifetimes. Taking in his spicy smell and burying her face in his chest, she felt his head move close to her ear, sending a warm tingle down her spinal cord.  
  
"I love you," he whispered, so quietly she could hardly hear him. "I love you, love you, love you."  
  
Ginny's eyes nearly filled with tears at his sweet proclamation of love. He was such a gentleman, she thought. So romantic. And while Harry had certainly shown her that he loved her, he hadn't told her straight out until now.  
  
"I love you, too, Harry," she breathed, hoping he would hear her.  
  
Suddenly she felt his muscles stiffen and heard a sharp intake of breath. "What did you call me?"  
  
"I said I love you, too, Harry," she said louder, confused. "What, you want me to call you Scarhead like the Ferret?"  
  
Immediately his arms left her waist and she felt him scrambling to stand up. "What is it?" she asked worriedly, afraid she had offended him in some obscure way. "What?" she demanded, louder, when silence answered her the first time.  
  
"_Weasel?_" spluttered an all-too-familiar voice.


	3. Caught

Ginny gasped and stood up as well, snatching her cloak from the ground. Her ears were ringing as she tried to sort out what had just happened.  
  
"_Lumos_," said the other person, who, as Ginny reasoned correctly, was not Harry Potter. A blinding light hit her full in the face. He swore.  
  
Ginny blinked and gazed in confusion and horror at none other than Draco Malfoy. His face held the same expression that hers did.

"_No_," she breathed. "You mean - all the time, you were - I was - "  
  
Both of their faces took on a completely sickened look and two voices retched, "Oh, that's disgusting!"  
  
Ginny felt her stomach churn, and an angry flush crept up into her face. "What, did you follow me, Malfoy?" she spat. "Couldn't get enough of me in Potions, could you?"  
  
"Don't be stupid," Malfoy growled. "If I'd have known that I was snogging a Weasley I'd have _Avada Kedavra_'d myself right then. You followed me, Weasel, didn't you? Don't lie, Weasel, that's a sin." He glared at her, his gray eyes glinting maliciously. Ginny thought she saw a small spark of fear behind his anger.  
  
"Carry on if you want to kill yourself, see if I mind," she hissed, narrowing her eyes in fury. "I didn't follow you. Like I would want to. What are you doing in here, anyway? Shouldn't you be locked up in a cage somewhere?"  
  
Malfoy's lip curled and he broke his glare to grab his cloak and push angrily out the door. Ginny followed, wand out, smoothing her hair in case it was messed up, which would have been extremely embarrassing. "I asked you, what are you - "  
  
Outside the door, in front of Malfoy, stood Harry and Cho Chang, both looking extremely confused and embarrassed. No one said anything until Malfoy offered his usual scathing comments.  
  
"Well, well, well," Malfoy sneered as he observed the situation. "It seems we've had a little mix-up, didn't we."  
  
Ginny's eyes met Harry's, and he took her hand.  
  
"But - how?" Cho asked, looking confused and annoyed. She stood beside Malfoy so the two couples faced each other. "Draco, weren't you supposed to meet me in the fifth classroom from Boris?"  
  
"Hmm," said Malfoy, "seems Scarhead and I can't count, can we?"  
  
Four pairs of eyes counted the doors down from the statue. Harry cursed under his breath and gave Cho a very dark look. Ever since their dating fiasco - or fiascos, really, there were more than one - they'd had pretty hard feelings toward each other. Harry turned his glare on Malfoy. "You apologize to Ginny, right now." Ginny felt a warm rush of gratitude toward her boyfriend.  
  
"It's not my fault she went and snogged me," Malfoy growled, his voice raising in anger.  
  
"Need I remind you that you snogged right back, _Ferret_?" Ginny exclaimed, practically spitting out her last word.  
  
"What," said a strict, shocked voice from Ginny's left, "is the meaning of this? Four students out of bed in one night! It is half past one, need I remind you what time you were to be in bed?" Professor McGonagoll stared wide-eyed at them. "Potter, Malfoy, I would have expected you to have learned this in your first year! I trust you remember what an unpleasant experience it was?"  
  
Angry silence met her words. They knew that if they explained what they'd been doing they'd be in even deeper trouble.  
  
"Detention!" the Professor nearly yelled at them. "All of you! Follow me to my office right this minute." She indeed led them furiously to her office, where they stood guiltily and slightly disgusted, and also apprehensive.  
  
"Right. Your detention will be tomorrow night with Argus Filch. Why don't we take a trip down memory lane," McGonagoll said, her lips narrowing, "and do detention in the Forbidden Forest?"  
  
All four students tried to mask their fright. Ginny cursed Malfoy in her mind, and tried not to blame Harry for counting wrong. _Well_, she thought, trying to find a bright spot, _at least we haven't gotten any house points taken away._  
  
"A hundred house points apiece you've cost your houses," McGonagoll informed them. "And be glad it's not worse." Ginny's stomach dropped. A hundred? Being out of bed couldn't be worth that much. She tried desperately not to imagine her fellow Gryffindor's faces when they noticed how much had disappeared from their hourglass. Two hundred from Gryffindor! That would take away almost everything they had won in the last Quidditch match against Hufflepuff.  
  
Harry left McGonagoll's office in a hurry, flashing everyone an extremely angry look. Ginny almost ran out after him, but figured he'd lash out at her, too. She'd never been the victim of one of his anger fits and didn't intend to be one right now. Malfoy pushed past her and walked quickly out the door of the office, his black cloak billowing behind him. Cho and Ginny narrowed their eyes at each other, then went separate directions from the door of McGonagoll's office.  
  
When Ginny entered the common room, she didn't find Harry. She suspected he had taken his Invisibility Cloak and gone somewhere private to sort out his thoughts. Ginny trudged up the stairs to her dormitory, and, careful not to wake anyone, collapsed on her bed. Something sharp stabbed into her back, and she bit back a scream before realizing it was just the corner of her Transfiguration book. Sighing, she set her bookbag on the ground and lay on her bed without even taking off her shoes.  
  
Ginny couldn't sleep. She had kissed Malfoy! The Ferret! If she ever hated anyone, it was him. Swaggering around the castle like he owned it, like he owned everyone, the arrogant jerk. But then she remembered the feel of his kisses, how she could sense his loneliness and his misery. She knew about his home life; Bill had told her once. About his negligent father and how cruelly Malfoy was constantly treated. His kisses had been gentle, tender, and Ginny suddenly chastised herself for replaying them in her mind. _He's the Ferret! He could never compare to Harry, never compare to The Boy Who Lived_. She finally fell asleep feeling slightly guilty.  
  
Harry couldn't sleep. He'd certainly stopped liking Cho after their dating disasters last year - he shuddered at the thought of them - but he still couldn't erase the memory her rough, passionate kisses in the quiet classroom. Ginny was always so gentle and timid. But how could he have not noticed that this was not Ginny? For one thing, their hair had completely different textures, and Harry was sure he'd run his hands through Cho's thick, straight tresses. Could it be that he still had feelings for Cho? _No_, he told himself sternly._ I love Ginny, not Cho. Ginny's my girlfriend, not Cho. Any feelings I felt for Cho an hour ago were completely physical._ He finally fell asleep feeling guilty and confused, and angry at Malfoy for snogging his girlfriend.  
  
Draco couldn't sleep. He had finally opened up an hour ago, showing Cho his true feelings, admitting his love for her. And his secret girlfriend had not been there - it was the Weasel instead! He cringed. He'd shown her his vulnerable side, his gentle side, the side he tried to hide [rhymes!]. And he'd felt acceptance, love, security from her kisses . . . and it was the Weasel all along! He made himself wince, but he couldn't hide from the emotions he felt. Cho had never kissed him like that before; she'd always been a bit rebellious, but never truly passionate. Maybe she was only snogging him just to spite Harry. He knew about their dating adventures last year - who didn't? But the Weasel . . . He finally fell asleep feeling guilty for feeling jealous of Scarhead.  
  
Cho fell asleep right away. She was exhausted after all that kissing.


	4. Detention

Author's Note: Review. (Got tired of my own little rhyming jingle. Started to sound stupid.) I'm sort of leaning toward the whole Draco/Ginny thing . . . I love reading D/G stories anyway, might as well write one! Sorry for the longness. Well, sort of sorry anyway.

- - - - - - -  
  
Ginny's eyes opened and stared at the ceiling of her canopy bed. Briefly she wondered why she still had her shoes on, and why she felt so horrible.  
  
The memory of the previous night came crashing down on her._ Malfoy - kisses - Harry - Draco - she had kissed the Ferret! He had kissed back!_ Showing her his soft side - but then, once he found out who she really was, he snapped back on his smooth, bullying act so fast it was like a spring on a mousetrap.  
  
So why did she want to relive those kisses again and again? _It's just physical_, she told herself sternly. _Malfoy has nothing compared to Harry. And even if I wasn't comparing, Malfoy's a big-headed git who doesn't deserve my time nor my energy. _It was just a mistake, and it wasn't even her fault.  
  
She let out an exasperated groan, then realized it was a bit late. Really late, in fact. She'd have to skip breakfast to make it to Herbology on time. _Great! _she yelled at herself in her head. _Just lovely! First you kiss IT, then you oversleep! Get a grip on yourself, Weasel.  
_  
She started. She'd called herself Weasel. It was only in her head, but still . . . That was IT's name for her. Weasel . . . She made herself shudder and be mad at him. Furious.  
  
Herbology went smoothly, Ginny arriving just before class began. Isabelle raised an eyebrow at her, but they were tending to Mandrakes today - much to the Gryffindors' chagrin - didn't they cover them in second year? Professor Sprout frowned brownly at them (she was completely covered in potting soil) and announced they were going to study them "in depth." Which meant repotting them, but staring at them very hard in-between pots so they could understand more about them. The only good thing about the lesson was that everyone wore earmuffs and Ginny didn't have to explain last night's or morning's absences to anyone, nor answer any questions about the 200 points lost in one night. She'd checked the hourglass, though, and Gryffindor was still ahead by far. So maybe no one would notice.  
  
She noticed some people staring at her during class and her stomach slipped several notches. What if IT had told everyone about last night during breakfast? For all she knew he'd shouted out every last detail.  
  
And what about Harry? She hadn't seen him yet this morning. She hoped he hadn't committed suicide or something; she knew he wouldn't tell anyone, so that was okay there. But Cho? . . .  
  
All her questions were answered in the Great Hall during lunch, and an immense wave of relief washed over her. Malfoy had told no one, since his reputation was at stake as well as hers. Cho hadn't told anyone, but probably because Malfoy had threatened her with various Dark Arts hexes, being the nice young man he was. Harry was sitting in his usual seat, though looking fatigued and noticeably pensive. Ginny sat down meekly next to him.  
  
"Harry?" she asked in a very small voice.  
  
He looked up at her, his eyes a dull, dark shade of green. "Hey, Gin," he said wearily. "Why weren't you at breakfast this morning?"  
  
So he wasn't going to acknowledge last night. Fine with her, she didn't want to either. "I overslept and had to skip it. I had Herbology first - repotting stupid Mandrakes."  
  
He laughed dutifully. "Poor 'ickle fifth years." His eyes suddenly darted, without his command, to the Ravenclaw table and he hoped Ginny wouldn't notice. He turned to her and smiled.  
  
She hadn't noticed, because her own eyes had drifted across the Great Hall to the Slytherin table and found a certain blonde individual. She turned back to Harry, hoping he hadn't noticed. He turned to her and smiled, and no one said anything for the next few moments.  
  
"You lot are unusually quiet today," Colin noted, looking from Harry to Ginny.  
  
Ginny gave a huge, fake yawn. "Oh, you know," she said, "I was up a bit late studying for a Muggle Studies test I'd almost forgotten about." Harry flashed her a quick smile, glad she'd thought of a fast cover.  
  
"Oh really?" Hermione asked, breaking off from a heated conversation with Ron. "What are you studying about now?"  
  
"Er, Muggle radios," Ginny said, casting about. "And how they differ from wizard radios. Pass the peas?"  
  
Ron glanced at Harry, oblivious to the bowl of peas sitting right in front of him. A look of understanding and brotherly overprotectiveness passed onto his face and his eyes widened. "And Harry - were you - er - helping Gin STUDY last night?"  
  
Harry grinned and rolled his eyes. "No, I'm just tired, too, that's all. Homework and Quidditch are really starting to get to me, you know?" His vague answer warded off any questions, much to his relief.  
  
Ron nodded vigorously, forgetting his suspicion. "Yes, Angelina's getting quite worked up, isn't she? At least she doesn't have us practicing twice a day. Yet."  
  
He and Harry soon got caught up in their discussion about Quidditch, and Ginny lost interest. Not because she didn't like Quidditch, but because she saw a pair of silver eyes staring in her direction. She stared back, but only for a few seconds before they tore their gazes away from each other. _Probably wondering if I've told yet_, she thought to herself. _As if I would want everyone to know I'd snogged the Ferret._ She was shaken out of her thoughts by a tap on the shoulder.  
  
It was Colin. "Say, want to play chess again tonight?" he asked.  
  
Ginny frowned. "Yes, but do I have to schedule an appointment with you or something?"  
  
Colin smiled grimly. "No, not yet, I just figured you'd need all day to prepare yourself for losing." His eyebrows shot up and he left before she could punch him in the shoulder.  
  
She gasped when she felt something warm cover her hand under the table, then realized it was merely Harry's hand. She turned to face him.  
  
"You can't play chess tonight," he muttered. "Remember? Detention. We're meeting Filch at the front doors tonight at ten. McGonagoll just told me."  
  
Ginny sighed. "I'd almost forgotten. What do you reckon we have to do?"  
  
Harry shrugged. "As long as it's not look for dead unicorns. Well, Gin, gotta go to Defense Against the Dark Arts, so I'll see you later." He planted a quick kiss on the top of her head before leaving the Great Hall.  
  
Ginny sat for a while, staring at the bowl of peas across the table, trying to sort out her feelings. She wasn't really thinking in words in her mind, although phrases such as "Harry and Cho" or "kissing last night" seemed to pop out of no where. She had never felt so many things before, not even last night. Some feelings she hardly recognized. Mostly, she felt confusion. Sighing (she seemed to sigh a lot lately, too), she heaved her heavy, secondhand bookbag on her shoulder and headed to History of Magic for an hour-long naptime.

- - - - - - - -  
  
The next time Ginny saw Harry, Malfoy, or Cho was at ten o'clock that night. They milled about awkwardly while waiting for Filch, who suddenly appeared from behind a tapestry and grinned toothily at them. "Shall we?"  
  
They marched wetly across the green lawn in front of the castle. Ginny suddenly felt a bit fearful of the Forbidden Forest - she'd heard Harry's stories - but then realized he'd be right alongside her. She felt secure again in his protection.  
  
"Now, then," Filch said hoarsely, his yellow teeth glinting in the moonlight. They were at the edge of the forest and it was very dark. "Your task is to look for the gold-spotted toadstools, for Professor Sprout. They grow about four inches high on the ground; pick 'em up and stick 'em in these baskets, shouldn't be too hard. Tried to get McGonagoll to let me hang you by your thumbs but she wouldn't let me. Right, so you've got your two baskets then. I'm going to split you up and each pair'll take a different path, see those two right there?" He gestured.  
  
"Red sparks if you're in trouble. Hagrid will see, I might see, in case you're being attacked by a vampire or a werewolf or one of the many very _deadly_ and _dangerous_ creatures in the forest." He chuckled cheerfully. Cho looked terrified.  
  
"Keep an eye out for red sparks from the other team. Your detention is over when your basket is full. I think I'll stick you, the blonde one, with the Weasley, and you two dark-haired ones go off together. Have fun . . ." Filch handed them their baskets after his little speech and watched them walk uncertainly into the Forest.  
  
Ginny's heart sank when she realized she'd have to be alone with Malfoy in the forest. Well, almost alone, anyway. Alone on their path. She grabbed the basket from Filch and set off into the forest without checking Malfoy was behind her. She knew, anyway, from the crunching of the leaves behind her.  
  
"_Lumos_," they both murmured, and two spots of light appeared on the ground. Ginny set their pace and they were walking quite speedily. Every now and then she'd spot a toadstool on the ground and collect it.  
  
Everything was going well - quietly, at least - until Malfoy growled, "Give me the basket."  
  
Ginny stopped and turned around. "Why." She said it as a statement, trying to be tough.  
  
He rolled his eyes. "Because I've found some stupid toadstools. Why _else_?" He snatched it from her and stepped away from the path a bit. Ginny peered around a large shrub to see a large, long patch of gold spots. Malfoy was kneeling, roughly plucking them out of the ground and throwing them in the basket, muttering something under his breath.  
  
"Be careful with those," Ginny admonished before she could stop herself.  
  
Malfoy stood up again and faced her angrily. "And why should I listen to you, Wheeze?" He'd apparently shortened the already-shortened version of her surname.  
  
"Because I," she said huffly, taking back the basket, "can count." She regretted her insult as soon as she said it, though more concerned for her personal safety than Malfoy's feelings. They were very alone, it was very dark, and he was already very angry.  
  
Avoiding his eyes, she knelt on the ground and carefully pulled up the toadstools, placing them gently into the basket. She heard a huge, exasperated sigh behind her.  
  
"What." She bit it out, again as a statement. Perhaps her hard voice would steer Malfoy away from whatever insult was next on his tongue.  
  
"Would you hurry up?" he hissed. "Just throw them into the basket. Who bloody cares what condition they're in when we get out?"  
  
Ginny intentionally slowed her hands down as she painstakingly pried a large toadstool's roots from the ground. "I bloody care," she swore right back. She could practically feel him raising an eyebrow, even though her back was to him. She blocked out all thoughts of the previous night, and thought instead of him bouncing around as a ferret. Boing, boinggg . . . It didn't really work. She could still feel him embracing her. _No_, she commanded her thoughts, _stop it. Just pick the stupid toadstools._  
  
Malfoy cursed and went around her to kneel across from her, on the other side of the toadstool patch. Ripping the toadstools out of the ground and tossing them carelessly into the basket, he glared at her from a couple feet away. Hard. Evilly, he hoped. He tried to make his eyes blaze fiercely.  
  
Ginny was unaffected. She stared coolly back, her hands working the toadstools by themselves as her mind raced. She wasn't afraid of him anymore, she discovered. Why? Because she knew he had a human side. She's seen it, felt it, kissed it last night. She smiled infuriatingly at him.  
  
Malfoy narrowed his eyes, knowing exactly what she was thinking and cursing himself and everyone within a 30-mile radius. _Stupid Weasley_, he thought bitterly. _Getting in my head. Butting her unusually long, freckly nose into places where it didn't belong. Like my face, for instance._  
  
Ginny softened her gaze and let her derisive smile slide off her face. Her hands slowed down even more and she felt pity and compassion for the boy that was currently giving her the hairy eyeball. Against her will she began to feel sorry for him_. Why did he always have to block out his feelings by being such a bullying git?_ she wondered. She was sure he could be a nice person if he would just let his guard down; she'd felt it less than 24 hours before. _His silver eyes were awfully nice to look at_, she thought. _When they aren't burning holes in mine, anyway_.  
  
Malfoy's hands stopped picking toadstools altogether. There she was, giving him that simpering look he knew too well. He'd felt it last night in her kisses. That reassuring, compassionate sort of look that no one else had ever given him before. Against his will, his eyes stopped blazing fiercely and just gazed into her deep, dark eyes. He tried to stop any emotion he felt but it was like a dam had burst. All those years, being the bully, being the bad guy, being alternately ignored and insulted by his father - it all came crashing down in one devastating look into Ginny's eyes.  
  
Abandoning his act and his senses, he leaned forward and kissed her.


	5. Surprise

Author's Note: Now for a little heart-to-heart so we can all see the warm, gentle person Draco Malfoy really is. . . . Maybe. Sorry that I took so long to update, but I had serious writer's block.

- - - - - - - -  
  
Ginny, still on her knees in the patch of toadstools, scooted closer to Draco until her knees were inches from his. She wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning into his kiss. She couldn't stop kissing him and couldn't escape the emotions now tumbling down inside of her. Harry's face suddenly flashed in her mind, and she pulled away from the kiss, though she kept her arms around his neck. She rested her forehead against his, noting how warm his usually cool skin was.  
  
"I'm sorry," Draco whispered, tightening his arms, which were wrapped around her waist. "I'm so sorry."  
  
Not sure what he was apologizing for, Ginny said, "It's okay, Draco. I know. I know."  
  
Not sure what she knew, Draco asked, "Why were you kissing me?"  
  
Not sure why he was asking, Ginny murmured, "Because - I wanted to." There really was no other reason she could think of.  
  
He didn't say anything.  
  
Ginny pulled him closer and put her head next to his. Her wispy hair tickled his ear. "You don't have to be that way," she whispered, looking up through a gap in the leaves to see a sliver of a golden moon. _What am I doing . . . ?_  
  
He closed his eyes and inhaled the smell of her shampoo, knowing that this was the first time anyone had ever held him in their arms because they genuinely wanted to. It didn't matter if it was Ginny Weasley - in fact, he was glad it was Ginny, and felt something toward her he never had before. He held onto her even tighter, shelving his pride.  
  
Ginny felt his arms tighten even more and her heart skipped about 12 beats. She closed her eyes and savored the moment, banishing all thoughts of Harry and what he would say if he came upon the scene.  
  
Draco opened his eyes. "Ginny." It was the first time he'd ever said the name by which she went. He pulled away from her reluctantly and stared deeply into her endless eyes. "You can't do this."  
  
"Why not?" Ginny asked softly with a small frown.  
  
"Because of Harry," Draco said wearily, taking his arms off her waist and stood up. It physically hurt him to stop holding her.   
  
She was quiet for a moment, amazed. "Can I ask you something?" Her eyes seemed bright in the darkness as she stood up as well.  
  
"If I said no, would you still ask me?" he asked, making up for his last, broken-up sentence by being irresistibly witty. Well, he thought so, anyway.  
  
Ginny ignored it. "Why were you kissing _me_?"  
  
"I don't know," Draco said before he could stop himself. Ginny's lips began to look pursed and annoyed. "Really, I don't know what happened or how, but you're the only one who - who would - ever kiss me back." It came out horribly skewed. He didn't often share his feelings much and was dreadful at putting his emotions into words.  
  
"Right," Ginny spat, suddenly realizing how stupid she was to let herself think there was more to Draco than he let on. "Well, if you don't mind--"  
  
"No, that's not what I meant," Draco exclaimed hastily, grabbing her wrist as she began to turn away from him. "Well - it is - but what I meant was, you're the only one who's ever made me feel - uh - "  
  
"Wanted?" Ginny finished quietly for him, wondering whether or not she should still be furious with him. She settled on being neutrally bland, as she was getting sick of the emotional roller coaster she'd found herself on. She was a bit amused that the normally smooth Draco was getting flustered.  
  
"Yes, that," he agreed with a small half-smile. He wasn't sure what else to say. He mentally slapped himself for being so clumsy with his words, but he had never expressed anything besides hate and ridicule to anyone before.  
  
"So I've seen the real 'you', have I?" she asked, meaning to be rhetorical. Draco answered anyway.  
  
He nodded. "You're the only girl I've kissed who really _wanted_ to kiss me."  
  
"So you've been kissing dozens of girls, then?" Ginny's eyes flashed, deciding to be angry again. "Keeping count? I suppose you label females like Potions ingredients - bad kisser, good kisser, has halitosis--"  
  
"No!" said Draco, reaching out to grab her shoulders with both of his hands. She looked mildly surprised. He had to make her see his point, even if she hated him for it. "Look, if you must know, I can count all the girls I've willingly kissed on one hand, all right? And all except one didn't like me as a real person, except maybe to laugh when I made fun of your family or something. Which I, you know, didn't really mean. That much."  
  
Ginny heaved a large sigh. This was much too complicated. Deciding to simplify it, her lips met his again - though if only briefly. "Okay," she said. There, she'd accepted his apology, if that was indeed what it was. Now what?  
  
"Now what?" he asked in a low voice, as if he were reading her mind.  
  
Ginny's heart literally ached, and her throat tightened. She had just discovered that she, well. She didn't really mind Draco. In fact - maybe it was because they'd made out twice now - but she _liked_ him. Or was it just physical? Maybe she just felt sorry for him.

_But what about Harry?_ she asked herself, a frown descending upon her brow._ He'd hate this. I'm his girlfriend, though. I like Harry. But I like Draco. But "like" isn't exactly strong enough . . ._  
  
"Draco?" Ginny asked softly, willing her eyes to stop tearing. "Can we - can we talk about this tomorrow? I have to sort some things out."  
  
Draco nodded and hoped his disappointment didn't settle onto his face. He had half-hoped that she'd cry, "I'll leave Harry for you!" and throw her arms around him and smother him in kisses, but then he reminded himself that he was living in real life, not in some sappy Muggle movie. "All right," he murmured.   
  
She smiled, but then remembered that she was the only one, according to him, who knew about this secret, soft side. His other side was rather unpleasant. Was it an act, or the real Draco? Maybe he was bipolar or something. No, that wasn't it.Biting her lip, Ginny knew that his insults were a defense mechanism. She knew how he'd grown up and the kind of family life (or lack thereof) he had to endure. Plus, his jealousy of Harry (everyone knew about it but never mentioned it) might have driven him to say and do things he knew were wrong. Everyone was used to it by now, especially Draco. It would be nice to see the soft Draco more often, but it would be hard to let go of his king-of-the-mountain reputation - not to mention the ridicule he might have to bear from all of Hogwarts. She could hear them in her head - "What's the matter, Malfoy, have we gone soft? What, no insults today? Are you ill? Did Daddy make you be nice to us?" Ginny suddenly marveled at the fact that she had, perhaps, fallen for Draco Malfoy.  
  
Ginny opened her mouth to voice her pity and confusion and sorrow, when a shrill giggle erupted somewhere in the distance. Draco's head snapped up - he knew that laugh. Their eyes squinted into the eerie darkness, and then they heard crunching leaves and giddy conversation.  
  
"Oh, Harry, you're such a sweetie," Cho's voice lilted. Harry chuckled and he spoke in a voice about three octaves below his normal one.  
  
"I'm not the sweet one here, love," he said, "Don't you remember last year?"  
  
"Oh, but that was last year," said Cho.  
  
"Still," said Harry, sounding a bit noble, "I really ought to apologize for any hurt I've caused you. I'm so sorry, Cho."  
  
Ginny's ears strained to hear Cho's whisper. "I know one way you can make it up to me."  
  
Two silhouettes in the near distance became one silhouette as Cho threw herself at Harry. Ginny expected Harry to hold her at arm's distance and sternly remind her that he had a girlfriend, but he didn't. In fact, he seemed to be kissing back. Hard. _Deeply_.  
  
Draco looked down at Ginny and saw her usually smiling mouth open in disbelief, and her eyes wide and angry. She fingered her wand, debating whether or not to hex them, when she realized Draco's hand was holding hers. She looked up and knew exactly what his eyes were conveying - "We were doing the same thing not ten minutes ago."  
  
Draco took matters into his own hands and slipped an arm around Ginny's waist. They began to stroll toward the kissing couple. "Well, well, well," he said triumphantly, "It seems we've had another little mix-up. What an unfortunate mistake. _Or is it_?"  
  
Harry and Cho broke apart and gasped. "Malfoy?" Harry panted. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Serving detention, Potter," Draco answered. "And what, may I inquire, are _you_ doing here? Besides, of course, what we've observed in the past few minutes. Isn't that right, Ginny love?" He kissed her forehead lightly.  
  
Silence. Ginny was half proud of and half angry at Draco for confronting Harry and Cho. She'd hoped she could break up with Harry the next day, or at least ask him about Cho.  
  
"What've you done to Ginny?" Harry asked meekly. Cho placed a hand on his shoulder and raised an unnaturally thin eyebrow at Ginny. Ginny smirked back, taking a page out of Draco's book.  
  
"I believe that the real question," said the blonde, knowing he had the upper hand in the situation (or at least sounding like it), "is what _you_ have done to Ginny. Your _girlfriend_?" If his words were text, 'girlfriend' would be underlined and capitalized and made to flash different colors. You could say it was emphasized.  
  
Harry opened and closed his mouth, unable to think of a response. "G - Ginny," he said at last, "could I have a word with you?"  
  
"Sure," said Ginny, not moving.  
  
"Alone?"  
  
"I'm fine just standing right here, thanks," she said defiantly.  
  
"Well, I'm not," said Harry stupidly. "Alone, please?"  
  
"No. What would you say to me, anyway? Break up with me? Apologize? Both?" Ginny scowled. "Invite me for a bit of tea at Hagrid's? Actions, Harry, speak louder than words, and I don't want to hear anything you have to say to me." She leaned her head on Draco's (broad and muscular) chest and blinked innocently.  
  
Harry narrowed his eyes. What was his girlfriend doing with Malfoy? She looked rather stupid, really - probably just trying to spite him - he had, after all, kissed another girl. _Fine_, he thought furiously. _I'll leave her with him and see how she likes it._  
  
"I rather think we've collected enough toadstools, Cho," said Harry loudly, not taking his eyes off of Ginny's pretty but cruel face.  
  
"I'm amazed," said Draco, "that you've found time to pick piddly mushrooms when you've obviously been sucking each others' face this whole time." He smiled to himself, pleased he'd been able to think of such wonderfully correct and scathing remarks.  
  
"That's not true!" yelled Harry heatedly, his fists clenching. But his lipstick-smeared face gave him away, as well as Cho's triumphant silence. "For us, anyway!"  
  
"Right," spat Ginny, annoyed with her boyfriend's disloyalty and her own hypocrisy. "Why don't we all yell at each other and see what Dark creatures hear and attack us?"  
  
"Yes, why bother yelling?" agreed Harry, whipping out his wand and pointing it threateningly at Draco. "When curses are so much quicker?" He strode quickly toward Draco, aiming his wand threateningly at his heart.  
  
"Curse me," said Draco softly, freezing Harry. "I doubt you would. How could Dumbledore's favorite boy curse another student? It's utterly unlike your noble, brave, Gryffindor character to curse someone who hasn't got his own wand out.""Watch me," Harry hissed. 


	6. Cursed

Author's Note: Thanks for the lovely reviews! I'm so glad to see that people are reading my story. Thanks, for making it possible in the first place!

Before I get all sappy, I'll continue with the story. Oh, and I know you were all expecting Ginny to leap in front of Malfoy and take Harry's curse (I certainly was), but I couldn't bring myself to curse Ginny. Hope you like this chapter! Special thanks to SamiJo, Emerald Storm1, Storymind, Heather, DracoGinnyFan, Volley Ball Chika, and shock-a-lot! You made my day(s).

- - - - - - -

Last time on Midnight Mix Up:

_"Curse me," said Draco softly, freezing Harry, "I doubt you would. How could Dumbledore's favorite boy curse another student? It's utterly unlike your noble, brave, Gryffindor character to curse someone who hasn't got his own wand out."_

"Watch me," Harry hissed.

- - - - - - -

"_Expelliarmus_!" Cho's voice cried out, and three wands zoomed into her open hand. She smirked at them, leaving Harry to be the only person in her presence who hadn't yet smirked that night. Instead of smirking back at her, though, he scowled. She pointed all four wands, gathered in one badly manicured hand, in the general direction of Harry, Draco, and Ginny. Now only Cho's wand was emitting the _Lumos_ light. Ginny suddenly experienced what normal people called "terror" when she realized that it was really dark and Cho really had all their wands.

Cho had been especially rebellious since she and Harry dated in her sixth year. It was now her seventh, and final, year at Hogwarts. At seventeen, she had multiple piercings (she even had a fang like Bill Weasley), several hard-to-miss tattoos, and a serious attitude problem. Her transformation triggered suspicions that she had been on the wrong end of a Potions accident, but she liked it this way. People feared her. Or wanted to snog her senseless, in Harry's case.

Truth be told, he loved Rebellious-Tattooed-Cho even more than Meek-but-Pretty-Ravenclaw- Seeker-Cho. He'd always had an edgy side to him, especially when he found out about the prophecy that Dumbledore - and indeed the entire Ministry of Magic - had been hiding from him. He had a lot of rage to deal with, but he mainly funneled it into fuel for doing well in his classes and Quidditch and bickering good-naturedly with his friends. Yes, he liked Ginny; she was a very sweet girl . . . But after that fateful mixed-up night, he knew he couldn't not have Cho. (He was also very rebellious when it came to grammar and double negatives.)

"So," Cho sneered, "tonight we've all cheated on our significant others, hmm?" She shot Draco a look of deep loathing. She could tell by his messed-up hair and red lips what he'd been doing for the past few minutes or forty. So he preferred innocent Weasel to her? She'd have to do something about that.

No one said anything, but eyed the wands warily. She made a jerking motion with her hand and everyone jumped. She laughed evilly, enjoying her newfound power. "Scared?"

"Not in the least," snorted Ginny. She was startled at the sound of her voice, but then she decided she had meant to say that. "I dare you to curse Harry."

Everyone looked a bit surprised at this, Harry most of all. He hoped fervently that she was playing mind games with Cho.

Cho frowned suddenly, not expecting this. Her eyes flicked over to Harry, who was desperately sending her pleading little mercy messages through those big green eyes of his. Then she looked at Ginny and saw that taunting expression in that stupid freckly face and knew what she was thinking. _Stupid Weasley mind games!_ thought Cho furiously, when an idea occurred to her. Not for nothing was Cho in Ravenclaw.

"_Desiderous Harry_," she said simply. Four thin beams of light shot momentarily through the dark of the forest from the wands in her clenched fist and hit Harry right where his heart was situated.

Everyone looked even more surprised at this, Harry, again, most of all. "What - what did you do to me?" He didn't feel any different, he decided.

"It's an old curse, the Love spell," said Cho in an evil sort of voice. "That makes the cursed fall in love - deeply - with the curse-giver, and the curse-giver only." She winked at Harry, who felt a definite flutter in the region of his heart.

_I can certainly feel a difference now that I think about it, _he thought. _Just looking at Cho - I think I love that girl! Look at the way her eyelashes curl - and those fierce eyes_ (heavily ringed in dark kohl) _- good heavens, did that curse work on me!_

Ginny was nearly speechless. "If I'd've known that curse, I would have used it ages ago . . ."

Cho grinned and flashed a flirtatious look at Harry, who began to salivate. "Little Flitwick let this little spell slip out one time," she informed them, "and I happen to know that the only way Harry can fall _out_ of love with me is for me and me only to perform the countercurse." She smiled happily. "Sorry, Weasel dearest, but your boyfriend just dumped you."

Ginny conjured up a sneer from somewhere deep inside of her and presented it to Cho. "Good, I was just about to dump _him_."

Draco watched all this silently. Were the two girls fighting over Potter? But what about him? Why hadn't Ginny dared Cho to curse _him_? Maybe it was that she'd rather have Harry cursed because she had taken a liking to Draco. Or did it mean she liked him less than Harry? But they'd just been snogging themselves senseless only a few minutes ago . . . He seethed in frustration. Girls' minds were more trouble to comprehend than stupid foggy crystal balls in Divination! _Stupid, stupid, stupid . . ._

"Draco?" Ginny murmured tentatively, wondering about the funny, strained look on his face. She hoped that he didn't mind what she'd unwittingly made Cho do. Did she make the right choice, daring Cho like that? Was he perhaps jealous of Harry? Well, obviously, but more than usual at the moment? Did he want Cho back? She frowned in frustration. Boys' minds were more trouble to comprehend than stupid foggy crystal balls in Divination! _Stupid, stupid, stupid . . .  
_  
"Yeah?" he answered suddenly, bringing her back down to earth.

Ginny opened her mouth, then shrugged and turned back to Cho. "Look," she said, trying to sound reasonable, "it's nearly midnight. Why don't we sort out our rather tangled love lives tomorrow, hmm? If you give us our wands back, I swear we won't attack you."

"I wouldn't speak for others, Ginny," said Draco, raising an eyebrow_. (**A/N**: every time I read that someone raised an eyebrow in anyone's story, it makes me involuntarily raise my own eyebrow too! Does that happen to anyone else? Oh, yeah, sorry, back to the story. Ahem. Sorry.)_

"But I won't hex you tonight," he added. "Tomorrow, perhaps, when we're all awake and in our right minds. Well, most of us anyway." He gave a curt nod in Harry's direction, sneering at the drool oozing out of the boy's open mouth. Harry was, needless to say, still staring at Cho.

Draco snorted. "And I doubt lover-boy will hex you either, unless it's to curse you into loving him, too. Or - something like that - look, will you just give us our wands?" He glared at Cho, who was sniggering at his jumbled-up words. He really wasn't feeling very eloquent tonight.

"All right," she said presently, tossing back the wands to their respective owners while holding hers up defensively. "But Harry's not the only one around here who deserves to be called lover-boy, if you know what I'm getting at . . . "

Draco and Ginny simultaneously rolled their eyes. Without another word, Ginny snatched up her basket of toadstools - full, thankfully - and stalked off toward the castle, Draco's hand in her own death grip.

"Vile girl," she snarled, letting Draco's hand slide out of her own.

"What, you want Harry back?" Draco asked before he could stop himself. His eyebrows shot up to the region of his hairline. _(**A/N**: Aahh! There go my eyebrows again!)_ He immediately regretted blurting that out - whatever happened to his usual cool, calm, collected, sexy self? Now all of a sudden he was going to pieces over Ginny. After only two spontaneous snoggages.

"No, but I believe people ought to make their own choices about who to love," she replied carefully, slowing down her pace and speaking in a much softer tone. She suddenly wasn't sure what to tell Draco. It was different talking to him while staring into his lovely gray eyes from about three feet away. _It is easier_, she thought_, to whisper things in his ear while I'm wrapped up in his arms_. She felt warm tingles bouncing down her spine at the very thought and tried not to show it on her face.

"I believe that, too," said Draco, without even the trace of a smirk. Highly unusual, really. He pulled his robe tighter around him. He glanced down and saw Ginny's hand, swinging by her side. _Would she be offended if - ? Would she think that I - ?_ He gave up on his inner turmoil and took Ginny's hand again, interlacing their fingers and pressing his own fingers against the soft skin of the back of her hand. "Just promise me you won't put me under that Love spell crap," he said jokingly.

"Are you sure I didn't already?" Ginny teased, feeling a bit braver as they stepped out of the Forbidden Forest. They heard Harry and Cho exchanging murmurs a little further behind them.

Draco stared at her with what she hoped were only sarcastically wide eyes. "I - well - yes, I'm sure. I mean, I don't think you put me under the Love spell."

Ginny's hand loosened its tight hold on Draco's as she sorted out what he meant. He didn't feel the same way she felt? Granted, they weren't exactly a bona fide couple, in fact quite far from it . . .

The lawn was still wet, and her robe's hem got completely drenched. She took the opportunity to think about the meaning of his words as she made a pretense of wringing them out. "Oh," was all she could think of to say. Their small conversation had begun with a joke, but now it seemed like everything they said to each other was loaded. She never had this problem with Harry.

She really needed to stop comparing the two Seekers. And anyway, even if she had just dumped Harry, what she and Draco had done in the forest was just that. It wasn't a commitment, per se. It was just a spur-of-the-moment thing, right?

Draco realized what his words could have meant, and wondered what he really did mean. He said nothing when she straightened up, but nudged her in the ribs and pointed to the castle's main doors. The silhouette of Filch stood clearly outlined in the doorway, waiting for them. Ginny surrendered the toadstool basket and endured Filch's bad teeth as he thanked them profusely and sarcastically.

They walked through the halls in silence. Ginny wondered if he'd still be the evil git to her after this night. Sure, he was fairly nice to her during detention, but only because she had gotten close enough to trust him and be trusted in return. Well, and also close enough to make out with him. Hmm.

They reached a fork in the hallways and each realized the other was going in a different direction. Ginny stopped and turned toward Draco, planning to just say good night.

"Good night, Draco," she said softly, thinking of what would happen if anyone should come around the corner and see them snogging - if, that is, Draco decided to kiss her good night.

"Good night, Ginny," he said back, face unreadable.

Stupid Malfoy expressionless faces! Ginny screamed inside her mind. Wait, but he'd called her Ginny? She mentally screamed some more. Well, she decided, it was her turn to abandon her senses and surprise him. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him full on the lips, counting out four full seconds before she pulled away, smiled seducingly at him, and went in the direction of the Gryffindor common room.

Draco could still feel her lips on his as she sauntered away. Maybe she really had put a Love spell on him. No, he figured she wouldn't after he had asked her not to. He trusted her.

Ginny grinned to herself. Things had definitely taken a turn for the better. Now she didn't need an excuse to break up with Harry - Cho had put him under a Love spell! Ginny would be pitied, be angry with Cho for a bit, and then wind up in Draco's arms. If he'd have her. Heck, she'd go with him just to make out with him as much as possible.

Well . . . If she was honest with herself, she also felt a little sorry for him. Of course she did. She always had, but she'd never really cared about it until now -

"_Ginny?_" whispered a soft, disbelieving voice from behind a statue of the great wizard Zaphod Beeblebrox. (**_A/N_**: 42! OK, separate disclaimer, Zaphod belongs to Douglas Adams.)

Ginny whirled around, literally getting her knickers in a twist. "Isabelle?" It was indeed Isabelle, who stepped out from behind Zaphod, looking ashen-faced.

Ginny looked hurriedly up and down the hall, and ran, pulling Isabelle behind her quickly. They hastily jumped into the portrait hole just as Mrs. Norris had spotted them from down the corridor. The common room was, thankfully, empty. After all, it was about two in the morning.

Ginny stood unsteadily, biting her lip. "Why were you hiding there?" she asked finally, throwing the focus onto Isabelle. She hoped this would ward off any questions about where she had been that night.

"I didn't know where you were tonight," Isabelle explained, "so I was looking around for you. And where do I find you? In the hallway, saying good night to none other than Draco Malfoy. You kissed him! You, Ginevra Weasley, were snogging Draco Malfoy! Possibly all night long!"

She clapped a hand over her mouth as she realized Harry had clambered in after them. His eyes looked a bit unfocused; he was obviously still under the Love spell. Isabelle began to tremble, thinking that perhaps Harry didn't know about Ginny's scandalous affair, but he muttered, "That's old news, m'dear." He wobbled a bit on the spot, and then wailed, "I wish I were in Ravenclaw!"

As he tottered up the boys' staircase, Isabelle turned to Ginny, who figured the best plan of action was to explain things simply and succinctly. "What I'm about to tell you must never be repeated. Well, not to anyone untrustworthy anyway. Actually, I don't care if it's repeated, so whoever's eavesdropping can come out now." So much for simple and succinct. Isabelle gave her a sideways look as they sank into a couch in front of the glowing embers in the fireplace.

"Okay. Last night there was a bit of a . . . a mix-up and I was unknowingly snogging Draco and Harry was unknowingly snogging Cho, when it was supposed to be, you know, switched, only we were in the darkness and couldn't see, and we were caught by McGonagall. So we ended up in detention in the forest tonight, and Draco kissed me even when we knew it was each other and I kissed him back, and then we saw Harry and Cho snogging, and Cho put Harry under a Love spell, so Harry and I have basically broken up. But I don't really mind because I'd rather be with Draco anyway, even though I probably won't be because of the circumstances and everything. He can be very nice, you know." She had said this all very quickly. _Hmm_, she thought to herself. Perhaps she'd better reexamine the definitions of "simple" and "succinct".

Isabelle raised her eyebrow, an action that had been done by almost the entire Hogwarts student population in that one night. "Is that right."

"Yes."

"Well. Stranger things may have happened, but I have yet to hear about them. Look, the only thing I have to say is, I trust your judgment and everything, but I don't trust Malfoy. Did he place _you_ under a Love spell?"

"No."

"Look, I'll be blunt: he's probably just using you for snogging practice, knowing the kind of guy he is, so just watch out, okay?"

Ginny looked indignant. "He is not! He's really very sweet beneath that tough bully shield he's made for himself. I think I can help him out of that. Well, what I mean to say is, I here and now declare that I trust Draco Malfoy and I do not think he is using me for snogging practice. Not," she added, "that he needs it."

Isabelle rubbed her weary eyes and sighed, shaking her head. "Maybe when you wake up you'll realize how stupid you sound."

"Oh, it's okay, I already know," Ginny said lightly, following her friend up into the girls' dormitory. "But, Isabelle, thanks for caring."

Isabelle glanced at her from her bed, where she had already jumped in and curled up into a ball. "Just be sure you're not snogging him to, I don't know, play fixer-upper."

Ginny said nothing to this except to wish her friend good night, but pondered Isabelle's warning as she lay awake in her canopy bed. Sure, he was intelligent and knock-'em-dead handsome (did she just think that? How lame did _that_ sound), but Isabelle had a point. He was really awful to everyone else but her, and had, in fact, been mean to her all up until last night. But he was extremely gentle and nice and kind to her now. Should this matter much to her? And was it truly desire, or was she only kissing him because she felt sorry for him?

She frowned in the silence, listening to the deep, rhythmic breathing of her roommates, wishing she could just sleep. But one thought plagued her mind.

WAS she trying to play fixer-upper?


	7. Turmoil

**Author's Note:** AHA! I had you all fooled! You thought I'd quit writing this story, eh? Well, tough luck, kiddies, here's chapter seven! (Don't worry, I only use excessive !'s when I'm super-hyper.)

* * *

The next day Ginny woke up and knew exactly why her stomach was churning from anxiety. Never before in her life had she experienced such inner turmoil - well, perhaps in second year, and this time it wasn't really a matter of life or death. Still.

Though she dressed in her nicest casual robes and put her hair back into a neat ponytail, and though she waltzed into the Great Hall for breakfast pretending to be happy and carefree, she still felt sick to her stomach. At least her acting skills were up to par so no one would notice that she was deeply troubled.

"You look deeply troubled," said Isabelle through her mouth full of scrambled eggs (not a pretty sight).

Ginny frowned. Was it really that obvious? "Oh. I do?"

Isabelle frowned back until a knowing look descended upon her face. "Ahh. . . I think I know what's wrong."

"Oh. You do?"

"Uh-huh. Boy troubles!" she said with relish.

Immediately, two heads snapped in their direction. One belonged to Colin, the other to another fifth year named Doug. Ginny got the feeling that Doug secretly had a crush on her but was too shy to say so, though he'd spoken to her a few times as of late. She tried to treat him with compassion, admitting to herself that she _was_ a bit out of his league. After all, she was dating Harry Potter - that is, she corrected herself, she _had been_ dating Harry. What she assumed to be her ex-boyfriend was currently watching Cho eat as though it was fascinating.

"B-boy troubles?" stammered Doug, his eyes wide with masked hope.

"Boy troubles," confirmed Colin, "is what I heard. How can we help, ladies? I'm told I'm a good listener."

Isabelle considered his request. "What would you say to a completely insane person who"

Ginny didn't want to hear how Isabelle's sentence would end, fearing that soon the entire cafeteria would know. "Who keeps blurting out her friend's secrets?" she interrupted hastily, knowing that Isabelle was in fact trustworthy.

Isabelle rolled her eyes. "A completely insane person who has no faith in her friend's ability to keep her mouth shut." She grinned mischievously. "Although the completely insane person seems to have no trouble keeping her _own_ mouth shut, especially late at night, with"

Ginny slapped Isabelle hard on the shoulder, then turned to see Colin and Doug staring at her. She felt herself turn pink, then realized that between their two heads she could see Draco's, staring at her from the Slytherin table.

She immediately felt herself turn crimson, then excused herself. She saw Draco stand up half-way as if he were thinking she wanted to talk in the hallway, but Ginny shook her head at him and scurried out of the Great Hall toward her next class: Defense Against the Dark Arts.

It was a little-known fact around Hogwarts that the young new DADA teacher was none other than Ginny's aunt's divorced sister's roommate's dry cleaner's second cousin thrice removed's doctor's nephew's secret lover's neighbor. This coincidental and ironically close connection had created a bond between Ginny and Mabel Hurst.

"Hey, Mabel," sighed Ginny as she banged through the DADA classroom's door and collapsed into the first chair she came across. She buried her head in her arms, feeling her hot breath warm her face in the worn cotton sleeves of her robe.

"Uh . . . Ginny?" Mabel said tentatively, a bit shocked by her sudden and dramatic entrance. "You all right?"

Ginny shook her head no, then raised it, resting her chin on the heels of her hand. "Actually no, no I'm not. And how are you?"

"Concerned," said Mabel in a high voice. "About you. How come you're so pale, huh? Oh," a knowing look dawned on her narrow face, "it's a boy. I know that look, Gin. And by the looks of things," observed Mabel, peering into Ginny's puffy eyes, "it ain't Harry."

"What!" exclaimed Ginny. "How could you tell! I mean . . . Where'd that come from? It does too concern Harry. In a way."

Mabel sat on the table next to Ginny's folded arms. "Come on, Gin. There's an eavesdropping-proof charm on the door, and I'm not telling anyone. I can tell you're stressed out, so let's hear it. Beans. Spill."

Ginny took a deep breath, then told the entire story to Mabel. " . . . So Harry's drooling over Miss Rebel Without a Cause, and I'm suddenly really attracted to the one guy who's tormented me for over half my life. I mean, I still like Harry and all, but . . . Draco's just . . . I don't know, more attractive to me, both character-wise and, um, physically." She assumed Mabel would understand about these things, since she wasn't far beyond her teenage years.

But Mabel tapped her finger on her chin. "Ginevra," she said seriously, "listen to yourself. You say you're in love with Draco, but that's only after two nights of pure snoggage. Mostly snoggage, anyway, maybe with some mushy dialogue thrown in. How can you say you love him when you don't really know him? The only Draco you truly know, with proof, is the one that calls you Weasel and makes fun of your family. Remember him? Ferret-face?"

Ginny bit her lip. This was what she was afraid of. This was the revelation she'd been running from, afraid to face the voice of reason. This was certainly the most sensible thing she'd encountered in the past few days, but it certainly wasn't what she wanted to hear.

"But, Mabel," she moaned, "I know what you're saying is true and all, but - how am I supposed to get over him? He's always in the back of my mind - "

" - and mouth - "

" - and I can't just stop liking him all of a sudden." Ginny huffed a sigh. "What should I do? I want to do what's in everyone's best interests," she said, sounding like some sort of insurance commercial on Muggle television.

Mabel nodded. "I know you do, hon. I think the thing to do now would be to talk to Harry and officially break it off, since technically he's cheating on you, no matter what kind of sick curse he's under. Then, talk to Malf - er, Draco - and tell him that you can't see him until you sort things out. Face it, Ginny," she said as her classroom door opened and jabbering students began to pour in, "whirlwind romances never work out like they do in the movies we love. Good afternoon, class! Ready to hex each other!"

Mabel mostly left Ginny alone for the next class period while she called on other students. Ginny, deep in thought at the back of the classroom, decided to go along with Mabel's advice, though it seemed fairly cynical to her. Who's to say whirlwind romances never, ever work out? Ginny thought. Sometimes they do. But what about this time? . . .

She didn't see Draco for the rest of the day, taking pains to avoid him until The Talk. It deserved capital letters in her mind, because it was such a daunting thing to her. She and Isabelle did their homework in the corner of the Common Room so their conversation wouldn't be overheard.

"So, that's it?" asked Isabelle. "Just tell Draco you can't make out with him anymore, and go along with our merry little lives?" She snorted. "Bit blunt, that is, Gin."

Ginny scribbled out an incorrectly spelled name on her handwritten map of springtime constellations and rewrote it. "Well, I won't be _that_ blunt. But that _is_ the gist of it, yeah. You were the one who said I was trying to be fixer-upper."

"Don't blame me for breaking it off with him!"

"I'm not 'breaking it off with him', I'm telling him I need to sort things out!"

"Which is basically saying, please give me time to figure out whether or not to drop you, thank you very much."

"Don't make this harder than it already is," said Ginny in an unusually harsh voice. "Sorry," she added when she saw Isabelle flash her a warning glance. "But I think maybe I _was_ being fixer-upper. I saw him really smile once and was so surprised and - and enthralled that I wanted see him that way all the time . . ." Her voice trailed off into silence as she reviewed what she'd just said. It was amazing how she could sum up her feelings and motives without meaning to.

Isabelle finished her Potions essay and dotted her last period with a flourish. She rolled up her parchment and sat in silence, until she took a deep breath. "I think Professor Hurst is right," she said finally, referring to Mabel. "It seems like the most sensible thing to do."

Ginny nodded. "But it's the hardest thing to do, Iz. I can't be within ten feet of him without throwing myself at him. Telling him this is going to be so difficult." She scribbled out something else on her map then looked up to the ceiling in frustration. "All of this is so weird! How could I have let this happen, Isabelle?"

Isabelle's eyes suddenly became bright. "What if they planned it, Harry and Draco?" she said excitedly. "What if Harry wanted to snog Cho again, and Draco had a secret but embarrassing crush on you the entire time he teased you? So they decided to swallow their pride and switch rooms - oh. Sorry."

Ginny turned her death glare from her friend back to her map and accidentally blotted one of the galaxies. Her parchment was beginning to look like Ron's artwork, and that was saying something. Professor Sinistra would not be pleased, but Ginny couldn't care less about it at the moment.

"I'm going to do it tomorrow," Ginny said suddenly, without even realizing it. "The Talk. After school. By the lake. I'll owl him. Get me an owl from the owlery?"

Isabelle shook her head as she stood up. "I hope you understand, I don't make trips to the tallest tower on the opposite side of the castle for just anybody," she said sternly. "Only for people who are in intense state of distress."

Ginny nodded. "From now on," she said solemnly, "every time I ask you to go to the owlery, I'm in an intense state of distress, okay? Get me one of the smaller ones, I don't need a big one. Thanks a bunch, Iz!"

Isabelle wiped her quill and left it between some pages in her Potions book, then left for the owlery. Ginny took out her Muggle Studies homework but felt that she was unable to properly concentrate on how Muggle prisons worked or what their fences were topped with. Instead she attempted to script The Talk in her head, but even in her own mind it was harder than flossing with barbed wire. Not that she'd tried that.

She imagined herself holding his hands in hers and gazing up into his eyes and using all of her willpower - and then some - to hold herself back from his kisses.

She imagined blinking back soft tears, and telling him that right now she couldn't be with him that way.

She imagined him frowning sadly and asking why, running a hand through her hair.

She imagined herself pushing his hand away and telling him her reputation was at stake as well as his, and she wasn't sure she was doing the right thing anyway.

She imagined herself sobbing into his heaving chest, then realized that she was really sobbing into her Muggle Studies homework. She raised her head suddenly and hiccuped. The ink on the parchment was beyond legible now, it was so heavily smudged, and the Common Room noise level had dimmed noticeably as people gawked at her.

"Ginny?" It was Doug, standing to her right. "You all right?"

Ginny swallowed a sob and used the collar of her robe to wipe her eyes. She crumpled the ruined homework in her hand and slowed down her breathing. "No, I'm not, but I will be someday. Um. Boy troubles."

Doug nodded. "Still?"

"Yeah. . . Yes, boy troubles still." She suddenly wondered if she had ink on her face, and fished around in her bag for her compact mirror.

"Well - Ginny," Doug said timidly, "if there's anything I can do, let me know okay? I hate seeing pretty girls cry." He suddenly realized what he'd said, and then looked a little impressed with how suave it sounded.

Ginny chuckled, figuring it was a joke as she peered into her mirror to see puffy eyes and faint traces of mascara-tinted tears. Her hair was pulled back into a messy bun below her left ear, and her mouth was permanently turned down even when she laughed. "Thank you, Doug. Very sweet. But please don't worry about me, I'll pull myself together. It's no big deal. I'm just a little stressed." She motioned toward her homework, lying profusely.

Doug shrugged. "If you say so. No more bawling though, okay? I could hear you from my dormitory." He trudged back up the staircase, leaving Ginny to start her Muggle Studies homework over again. She was glad that someone besides Isabelle and Mabel cared for her well being in this time of distress. _Draco would, too!_, she reminded herself, _if he'd seen all this_. She reconsidered this. She actually had no way of knowing this for sure, Mabel's voice echoed in her head. This was definitely a doomed whirlwind romance, just like all the others . . . _Why_ did she feel like she already knew Draco? She was obviously suffering from some unknown childhood trauma. Why else would she be acting so weird?

Isabelle returned forty-five minutes after she'd left. Ginny was beginning to panic, and was just about to clamber out of the portrait hold in search of her. But Isabelle stomped in, panting, and threw herself into the chair opposite Ginny's. She tossed her the small owl carelessly.

"Whoa! Thanks." Ginny nearly missed catching the tiny owl, which hooted shrilly in surprise, forgetting to extend its wings. "Explanation?"

Isabelle rubbed her eyes vigorously. Her head was resting on the back of her chair so that it was parallel to the floor and her hazel eyes were staring blankly at the ceiling. "I passed by the library," she started, "and saw Cho and her friends and some other people hanging out, doing homework, whatever. And then suddenly Harry leaps on her and starts to swap spit, majorly. And everyone in the library gasps, you know, and they won't stop. Until Madame Pince comes along and pries them apart and gives them detentions for PDA. So then after they left I had to defend you and try to decide what to tell them." She whipped her head forward and gave Ginny a sharp look. "I told them you and Harry broke up, is that okay?"

Ginny nodded sadly. "Yeah, I mean, it's basically true. Thanks, Isabelle." A strangled peep reminded her that the owl remained in her fist, which had clenched tighter and tighter as Isabelle told her story. "So what are they all saying, that Harry's gone off the deep end? Or that Cho's his recovery girl? Or that he's a cold-hearted jerk for rebounding just like that?"

Isabelle's eye twitched. "All of the above."

"Poor Harry. Well, at least we have ample warning. I'm going to be bombarded tomorrow. Maybe I'll barricade myself in the dormitory."

Isabelle patted Ginny's arm. "I think you should. You've had far too much excitement lately. I can tell the professors that you have a slight cold and that you're suffering from sleep deprivation due to school- and family-related factors that have distressed you immensely."

Ginny's face took on an impressed expression.

"I had some time to think about it as I sprinted from the library to here," confessed Isabelle. "But honestly, I think you should. And besides, you have to keep yourself away from him."

"Yeah, I might lose all control and start snogging him in the halls."

Isabelle opened her mouth to say that that wasn't the 'him' she was talking about, but then closed it. "So, you'll stay in the dorm tomorrow." A slight pause in which they both gathered their thoughts, and then - "So what's the owl for, now?"

Ginny glanced down, remembering again that the owl was limp in her hand, looking quite relaxed, or perhaps it was losing consciousness from lack of oxygen. She set it aside, against Isabelle's Potions books, on which it leaned.

Ginny stared at the blank piece of parchment in front of her and said, "I'm just writing a note to Draco saying to meet me at the lake." She scrawled it on the paper in half-cursive, half-print, and tied it to the owl's leg. "Draco Malfoy," she said intently to the owl, in case it hadn't heard. It took off through the portrait hole, nearly colliding with the head of a first year who'd just entered.

"Time for bed," said Isabelle bossily, taking control. Ginny allowed herself to be steered to the dorm, feeling like an infant. "In you go. No bedtime story this time, just sleep. Good girl." Isabelle grinned as she shoved Ginny toward her bed. "Nighty-night!"

Ginny smiled gratefully at Isabelle as the curtains were closed. She stared at the canopy's rich velvet sheen, lamenting the fact that she wouldn't be able to fall asleep for hours, what with all the thoughts bouncing around in her head.

A minute and five-sixths later, she was impenetrably steeped in merciful, restoring slumber. She slept for thirteen hours straight.

* * *

**A/N (04/05/05):** thanks to san-lee for correcting me on my use of Virginia vs. Ginevra! 


	8. Separation

Author's Note: Thanks for the rev-yoos (40!). More Ron and Hermione interaction on the way, as per Rachey's request. =)

- - - - - - -   
  
Ginny finally woke up at around ten o'clock the next morning. She started to worry about missing all her classes, but then saw a note pinned to the underside of the top of her canopy so that it would be the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes. It read:  
  
"GINNY WEASELY, you are SO not allowed out of the common room until dinner!!!! Lunch will be catered to you today, and breakfast is on your nightstand. I've told all the teachers that you're a little sick and stuff, and they all believed me and send their dearest condolences, or something. We will come fetch you at dinner. 'We' being me, Ron, Hermione, and possibly Colin and/or Doug. See?? You have your own fan club!!!! Love, Isabelle."  
  
Ginny grinned. Isabelle was always there for her, ready to bring her small owls or force her to stay in bed all day long. They'd started being friends in third year and were now inseparable (as demonstrated throughout this story, in case you missed that). Ginny's other friends were fun to hang out with or eat dinner next to, but only in Isabelle could Ginny confide, and vice versa.  
  
Ginny rolled over and opened the curtains a little bit to see soggy toast and orange juice waiting for her on her nightstand. Still lying on her side, she stuffed an entire toast half into her mouth, noting that Isabelle had sprinkled cinnamon on top. She was just contemplating how to drink her orange juice without having to sit up when she heard insistent tapping on the window.  
  
Sighing wearily, she swung her feet over the side of her bed, shuffled to the dormitory window, and opened it. An onyx-black owl swooped in majestically and landed on Isabelle's trunk. It offered her the note tied to its leg.  
  
Ginny assumed this to be Draco's owl. She untied the letter and admired the gleaming silver streaks glinting in the owl's feathers. The note read:  
  
"Ginny Weasely: How come you weren't in Potions? Avoiding me? Only kidding, Isabelle said you were sick, hope you're feeling better. Will meet you by the lake at eight o'clock in the evening. Just a warning: Scarhead might be there, followed by Ice Queen (read: bring your wand and look up a couple good curses). - - - - - Draco Malfoy."  
  
Harry and Cho would be there? With them? Ginny frowned. This was supposed to be a private meeting, between Draco and her, and she was supposed to sob into his chest and he was supposed to be stroking her hair and nobody else was supposed to be watching that. Oh well, she thought, maybe we can sort everything out between the four of us.  
  
She wrote back:  
  
"Okay, Draco, 8 at Lake. Am feeling slightly better. Thanks for note. Unfortunate about Cho & Harry, though, do they HAVE to be there? . . . See you soon. - - - Ginny."  
  
She desperately wanted to write something romantic, but knew it would be harder to give The Talk if she'd written "I like you more than CHOCOLATE!!" ten hours earlier. Draco's owl took off through the window, the streaks of silver glimmering in the early morning sun.  
  
Ginny spent the next two hours doing the homework that was supposed to be due today. Right in the middle of her Charms essay on spell fraud (people selling spells or curses that weren't real), she heard the common room door bang open.  
  
"Weasley!" yelled Isabelle. "Where are - oh, there you are."  
  
Ginny grinned from where she was bundled up on the cushiest sofa, right in front of the fire. "Thanks for letting me stay in guys," she said, then fake-coughed for Ron's benefit. He and Hermione were carrying platters of lunch items for Ginny. Colin had the silverware in hand, and Doug was shyly carrying iced water. Isabelle gestured toward them.  
  
"Your caterers," she smiled. "And I got your homework for you. Snape kinda looked at me funny when I told him you were sick, but he seemed to believe it. Especially when Draco got all Mr. Concerned and asked what you have."  
  
"I hate sarcastic people," Ron grumbled. "Um, anywhere special you want this-" he nodded at the platter of taquitos in his hands - "or shall Hermione and I just stand here and you can eat off of us?"  
  
"Put it here," Ginny said, leaning off the sofa and removing her Charms books off the coffee table. "Thanks. Wow, Mexican food. Haven't had that in a while."  
  
Hermione shot Ron a dirty look. "Ronnikins here almost ate all your taquitos on the way up here. I had to flick rice into his ear to make him stop."  
  
"My, what drastic measures," drawled Ron, rolling his eyes. "It might have worked - if you hadn't missed and gotten poor Colin instead."  
  
"It's in my hair somewhere," Colin shrugged. He ran his hand through his short-cut, curly brown hair. "Some teacher's probably gonna pass by and think I have lice or something."  
  
"Madame Pomfrey," said Ron seriously, "I think Colin Creevey has an infestation of . . . RICE!!! Dun dun dun dunnn!!"  
  
Ginny laughed along, glad for some company as she scarfed her taquitos. There was some more light-hearted conversation until the talk suddenly turned to Harry.  
  
"I wonder where he is," Hermione thought aloud, "seems like he should be in to check on his girlfriend."  
  
Ron's eyebrows shot up in alarm and he turned toward Hermione, who was seated next to him on the sofa opposite Ginny's. He whispered audibly in her ear, "Ginny and Harry broke up!"  
  
Hermione looked shocked. "What!" She turned to Ginny. "I've heard rumors but - it seemed so unlikely!"  
  
Ginny's eyes flashed toward Isabelle. "Um, we just felt like our relationship was getting, like, stale, sort of." She cleared her throat. "I think we've both moved on."  
  
Colin shook his head sadly. "You mean _he_ has moved on, to other people."  
  
Hermione's eyes widened. "Will someone please tell me which rumors are true and which aren't!"  
  
Doug spoke up from where he'd sat on the floor listening. "Harry and Cho are back together," he said, "That's what I heard. And I saw him following her around the halls. It was weird."  
  
Hermione continued to look shocked. "He must be out of his mind," she said, anxious. She glanced at her watch. "Oh, no! I'm late for Arithmancy! We'd better get going. Sorry to leave so soon, Ginny. This isn't over, though - we're talking later. Rest up, now."  
  
Everyone said a quick goodbye, and suddenly the portrait hole closed and Ginny was once again alone.  
  
So there were more rumors about Harry and her darting around the hallways. Dinner was going to be difficult. She hoped nothing about Draco and her was floating around, too.  
  
_What a horrible love triangle to be entangled in! And how unlikely._  
  
It seemed like Fate had thrown Ginny and Draco together. She tried to convince herself - who was she to overrule Fate itself? Maybe she was predestined to be with Draco. It certainly felt like it. At least, she thought so. She had no idea what Draco was thinking.  
  
But it would never work, and that's why she was going to give The Talk. Their families hated each other, and in fact they themselves had hated each other up until a few days ago. This was all for the wrong reasons. Just because she liked to kiss Draco didn't mean Fate had actually stuck them together for the rest of their lives. Although, Draco's voice echoed in her mind, that would be very nice. Ginny sighed and wished he were actually here so they could talk.  
  
Really, she had no idea what fate or destiny held in store for her. Maybe letting go of Draco would be the best thing to do. Maybe there was something after The Talk that was better than remaining with Draco.  
  
Draco, the boy she hardly knew. Whose heart, sheathed within the thick skin he'd built for himself to protect his vulnerability and his faults - she'd only caught glimpses of Nice Draco, quick flashes of tremulous emotion whispered quietly in the still places they'd been together momentarily.  
  
Ginny shook herself and removed the now empty platter off her stomach, and relaxed into the couch. She forced herself to look at the Big Picture, eternity stretched out into an everlasting line. This problem, with Draco and Cho and Harry, was but a mere point on that line. Maybe she'd make the right choice and look back on this and laugh one day.  
  
That didn't make her feel better. She still wished she wasn't involved in this tangled web of confusion. She wished she knew whom to trust and to whom she should offer her time. And energy. Possibly even her heart.  
  
Thinking these deep, philosophic thoughts thoroughly exhausted her, and she fell asleep once more. She dreamed about her Charms essay.  
  
------------------  
  
She woke up to someone yelling, "Ginny Weasley! Sleeping, again?"  
  
Her eyes cracked open slightly to see Isabelle peering at her face, inches away. "Dinner time, m'dear. Spaghetti, your favorite!"  
  
Ginny stretched and stood up, straightening her robes. She slipped her feet into fuzzy slippers and followed Isabelle out the door, hoping she would be left alone without having to confirm or deny rumors in the Great Hall.  
  
When she entered the Great Hall, it seemed like everyone's faces flashed toward her. She stared at her slippers and hurried to the Gryffindor table. Isabelle must have given them special instructions, because she was immediately enveloped in Gryffindors, and nobody from another table could penetrate their little bubble. Ginny felt grateful for this extra protection from the viciousness or curiosity of students belonging to other houses, particularly Slytherin.  
  
Ginny slopped a large amount of spaghetti on her plate, and added exactly seven meatballs, placing them in strategic places around her plate.

"A smiley face? . . . Didn't your mother ever tell you not to play with your food?" admonished Ron in a fake stern voice.  
  
Ginny giggled. "She's your mother too. Well, in name anyway - Fred and I agreed you must be adopted. There is _no_ way you could be related to us."  
  
"Exactly my point! That's just what I've been trying to prove," said Ron.  
  
"Don't say things like that!" Hermione slapped Ron on the arm. "Family is very important!"  
  
"Oh!" Colin looked shocked from a few seats down the table. "It is?! I never knew that!"  
  
"No wonder poor Dennis keeps forgetting you're his brother," lamented Ron. "Look at him, seeking comfort from his friends." He snickered, along with the rest of their little group. Dennis was deep in conversation with five flirtatious Gryffindor girls. "We're so disappointed in you, Colin. You've let him become a ladies' maaaan," Ron sing-songed in a deep, comedic voice.  
  
"Again," sighed Colin, "I don't think it's that important to remember that I am related to _him_."  
  
Dennis suddenly felt the dozen gazes, and turned to give the group a puzzled and annoyed look. Everyone quickly dropped their eyes to the table and tried to stifle chortles as Dennis returned to his ladies.  
  
Ginny ate every last strand of spaghetti on her plate, and was very pleased to see that dessert was carrot cake and pumpkin ice cream.  
  
"The theme tonight," announced Ron as he shoveled heaping amounts of both onto his plate, "is dull orange."  
  
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Is that so, Mr. Weasely?"  
  
"That's so," Ron said in a distracted sort of voice as he carefully sprinkled chopped peanuts atop the ice cream. "Miss Granger. Or should I saw, Spew President. We're never gonna let you forget this, Hermione. Even when you give it up we'll still be teasing you about your spew."  
  
Although he was carrying on a running commentary, Ginny saw him glance up, left, and right, seemingly to ensure no one was looking. Then he set the bowl of peanuts down and muttered under his breath, "Where's Harry?" He tried to mask his voice but Ginny heard it anyway.  
  
Hermione bit her lip and cautiously glanced around the Great Hall. "I haven't seen him at all since Transfiguration. I wonder if he's in trouble or something? Detention? Um. Ginny, would you know where Harry is?"  
  
Ginny stopped chewing her carrot cake as her heart gave a small jolt. "Oh, no!" she yipped with her mouth full.  
  
Ron glared at Hermione. "Way to upset my sister! Nice going, Herms. Lovely tact, mentioning her ex-boyfriend in the middle of din - "  
  
"It's not that," Ginny said hurriedly, jumping up from the table and swallowing the large bite of cake she'd taken. "I'm late for something. I have to go - see you in the Common Room, everyone. Er, thanks."  
  
No one stopped her on her way out. She passed Professor Flitwick and started to fake a coughing fit, hoping to back up Isabelle's explanation of her supposed illness. Flitwick gave her a small, sympathetic smile as she banged out the doors of the Great Hall and tore down the hallway and out the door onto the green lawn.  
  
It was 8:15! She was so late. Now Draco was going to think she didn't really care about him. But that was what she was going to tell him, basically, wasn't it? That she felt she couldn't - shouldn't - be with him or kiss him or anything. Because she knew it would never work out, and she shouldn't risk so much to attempt making it work.  
  
So many things would be on the line should she continue this relationship with Draco - her reputation, most importantly, but also her relationships with her family. Friendships with fellow Gryffindors. Her sleeping habits. Her schoolwork.  
  
Her heart.  
  
Ginny, puffing, was sure her face was bright red. She slowed down on an incline and re-ponytailed her shoulder-length hair. She was just about to go over the top of the hill and down to the lake when she heard strangled yells and an ear-piercing shriek. 


	9. Fury

A/N: So . . . Haven't really updated this in sixth months. Mainly because what was a cliffhanger to you was a roadblock to me. But! I've decided to write a chapter after rereading all of your encouraging reviews and besides I miss poor, troubled Draco. In the 6 months since Chapter 8, I've realized how terribly cliché and unrealistic Draco is and will make an effort to have him be an actual teenage boy instead of a stuffed teddy bear "with a shielded heart" . . . How lame could I possibly be . . . Anyway, here goes nuffin!  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Ginny stopped abruptly, shocked by the scream. She recovered quickly and ran up over the hill to see what the heck was going on.  
  
The first thing she noticed was Harry, lying spread-eagle on the ground. The second thing she noticed was Cho, standing by his left shoulder with her hands over her mouth. It was Cho, presumably, who had been shrieking. Lastly, Ginny noticed Draco, who was panting and had a disgusted sort of look on his face. His fine hair was tousled. _Hmm_, thought Ginny, _it looks like he's just been in a fight. Oh, goodness, what is that on Harry's face? Looks sort of purple. Like a bruise. Wait – bruise? Fight?  
_  
She descended from the rise of the hill and jogged the short distance toward them. "What the frick is going on here?" she demanded, using Bill's favorite substitute swear word (he had to censor his language when he was around Mum).  
  
"Um . . ." Draco looked up, a bit guilty. His hands unconsciously went up to his hair and smoothed it down. "Bit of a skirmish. . ."  
  
Cho shrieked again in a high-pitched scream that probably was acquired only after years of practice. "A _bit_ of a skirmish? You psycho _freak_! You just decked Harry! He's unconscious!" She knelt down, concerned. "Harry?"  
  
Ginny was horrified. She knelt beside Harry, too, and saw that his right cheekbone was red and swollen, and that a dark bruise was blooming. His mouth was set in an open sort of grimace, and his eyes were only shut halfway but Ginny could see that they were bloodshot.  
  
"Draco, what did you _do?_" she cried. Harry looked positively horrible. She looked up at Draco. Draco's ivory face was lit by the light from the castle and the reflected moonlight on the lake. He looked disgusted.  
  
"I did what any decent man would do," he said defiantly.  
  
"No decent man would do this," Ginny said, softly and sadly. She checked Harry's pulse because, in the dark, she couldn't tell if he was breathing or not. "What happened?"  
  
Draco cleared his throat and shifted his weight uncomfortably. In past experience, fighting men were considered manly and desirable. Now, all of a sudden, Ginny despised him for it? He rolled his eyes, then remembered he was supposed to be answering a question. "Cho brought him here drunk."  
  
"WHAT?" Ginny gasped. "But – how?"  
  
Cho sucked in her breath. "You tell, you die. Get it?" Ginny nodded. "All right. Your brother George found another secret passage to Hogsmeade in his seventh year. He showed it to me, because we, er. . . Well, he showed it to me. And one of the waiters at Madame Rosmerta's has an obvious crush on me, so a couple of us can go there every now and then to unwind without getting told on. So we went tonight, and of course Harry followed me." Cho cleared her throat and looked down. "Then, my friend – Parker Wallace, do you know him? – got Harry to drinking a little Muggle beer and when we came back he didn't know what his name was. Kept calling himself Super Bacon Boy."  
  
Ginny sat silently, stunned. "Figures," she sighed. She looked up at Draco again, who had zoned out and was looking at the air in front of him. "So, Draco, is this why you beat him up? Because he was drunk?"  
  
"I did not 'beat him up', Ginny," he corrected, snapping back to reality. "I merely knocked him out. And it's not that he was drunk, it was the things he was saying and doing."  
  
After a bit of a silence, Ginny piped up, "Elaboration, please?"  
  
Draco sucked his teeth for a second, making a little squeaking "tssk" noise. It was his unconscious habit to do this when he was nervous and speaking publicly. "You know, the usual Potter crap. Stuff about my family, morals, insults in general."  
  
He stopped speaking, not willing to go any further. Cho looked at Ginny bluntly. "Harry was insulting you, too, and being . . . kind of gross. He kept throwing himself at me, and um . . ." She giggled. "And at Draco, too."  
  
Ginny's lips twitched in brief merriment, but Draco was obviously not amused. Ginny contemplated asking what sort of insults Harry had said about her, but Draco was already uncomfortable in this situation. And anyway, Harry was lying unconscious in front of her. "So," she said, "shall I revive Harry?" She began to pull her wand out of her pocket.  
  
Draco moved his head slightly. "Let him sleep it off," he said carelessly with his hands resting in his robe pockets. "Combination of alcohol and my fist requires hours of recuperation." He looked sideways at Harry's body.  
  
Ginny thought his remarks sounded suspiciously experienced. "Okay," she said, unsure. "Well, where should we put the body? Can't leave it - er, him - here. Maybe Hagrid's?"  
  
Draco shrugged. "Sounds good, but I'm not showing up on that freak's doorstep." He felt Ginny's resentful glare. "What? You know that if I'm there, he'll automatically assume it's my fault."  
  
"Which it is," spat Cho. "You boys are fun to watch with your little tug-of- war with Ginny, but this has gone too far. Harry was drunk, Draco, and he obviously didn't have the mental capacity to form coherent sentences. As if he meant what he said. Help me carry him, Gin."  
  
Ginny, feeling a bit numb, grabbed an ankle in each hand while Cho got a good grip beneath his armpits. "Ready, and . . ." They lifted him, but his head rolled back and they heard his neck crack. Ginny winced. "That sounded painful. Can you maybe prop his head up against your stomach or something?"  
  
Cho tried this, but it compromised her strength, and Ginny knew they wouldn't make it to Hagrid's carrying him like this. She shot a look at a snickering Draco. "Little help? Be a gentleman?"  
  
He sighed. "Haven't you sissies ever carried an unconscious body before? Put him down." They obeyed and watched in awe as he bent down and swung Harry up and over his shoulder. He leaned his body sideways to get a better balance, and gripped Harry on one ankle. He reached up and placed a hand against Harry's ribcage area to steady Harry's body. He looked at Ginny, whose mouth was slightly open. "What?"  
  
"You're all . . . pro at this," she stammered. Well, it was partly that, and she was also impressed with the easy way Draco lifted Harry's fairly heavy body, as if it were a sack of dust. She tried to concentrate on the situation at hand rather than on imagining Draco's strong, taut muscles and sinews. Ooh.  
  
"Yeah, well . . ." Draco's voice trailed off and he marched wordlessly to Hagrid's hut. He set Harry against the wall, being unnecessarily rough and knocking Harry's head against the house.  
  
"Careful!" Ginny hissed. "Okay, Draco, maybe wait by the lake?"  
  
Draco blinked. "Oh. Are we still having some sort of discussion?"  
  
Ginny raised her eyebrows and nodded. "I think we sort of need to."  
  
"All right," he said easily, and strode away, tall and straight-backed, toward the lake.  
  
"You can leave, if you want," she said to Cho. "I can just make up a bunch of bull about Harry flying into a tree - "  
  
Cho glanced at Hagrid's front door. "Okay . . . It would probably look suspicious if I were here, anyway. All right, well, laters." She turned around and walked toward the castle, her gait unconsciously flirtatious, as if it were natural for her to walk exaggeratedly. But Ginny still felt it was nice of her to help carry Harry to the hut.  
  
Ginny knocked on Hagrid's door, forming the story in her head. He was flying, she decided, and tried to do a Wronski feint but it went all wrong and he lost control and slammed straight into a -  
  
"Hagrid!" she exclaimed as he opened the door. "How are you?"  
  
"Fine," he said through his beard. "Smashin', actually. Yehself?"  
  
"Pretty good."  
  
"Glad ter hear that. Hey - What're yeh doin' here at this hour o' night?" he demanded, suddenly realizing that it was against school rules for Ginny to be there at this hour.  
  
"I've got Harry's unconscious body here, actually," she admitted, forcing a concerned look onto her face and pointing to Harry.  
  
"What!" Hagrid gasped, shoving roughly past her (she crashed into a nearby bush) and crying out as he saw Harry. "Wha' happened, Ginevra?!" He took Harry up in his arms, went inside, and set the body on the table. His hut felt oddly empty without Fang, who had died some months ago from eating a poisonous plant.  
  
Ginny fed him the crashing-into-a-tree story, which he seemed to buy. She acted overly anxious, asking questions about Harry's fever, his bruises, what she should do with his broom.  
  
That last one almost ruined it. "Yeh can bring it here, I s'pose," he said, prodding Harry's bruised cheek. "'E can take it when he wakes up."  
  
_Think fast!_ Ginny screamed at herself. "Oh - um - actually I think I'll just take it to the common room. You know, in case he forgets it when he wakes up."  
  
Hagrid looked at her sternly. "I think know what's goin' on here," he said in a gruff voice after a tense moment had passed.  
  
"Er – you do?" Ginny squeaked, her heart racing. _Crap!_ she yelled in her head. This was it. Everyone would suffer because of her careless mouth. Cho would be punished for consuming alcohol and hexing Harry; Harry would be punished for drinking, too; and Draco of course would probably be expelled for, as Cho eloquently put it, "decking Harry".  
  
"Yeah, I'm onto yeh," growled Hagrid. He paused, letting suspense fill a few seconds. ". . . Yeh don' trust me with 'is broom!"  
  
"Oh, well - " Ginny tried to act like she was denying the truth. "Not really, I just - "  
  
Hagrid chuckled. "Now yeh don' really think I could fit on that bitty lil' broomstick? Naw, me flyin' days were over thirty years ago."  
  
Ginny laughed awkwardly. "Of course I trust you," she said, "it's just, like I said, I'm afraid Harry will forget - "  
  
Hagrid shrugged. "Yeh can take it. Don' worry about it. Why don' you run off ter yer common room now, since it's after hours and technic'ly speakin', I oughter put yeh in detention for bein' out righ' now." He slapped Ginny on the back, and she narrowly dodged being impaled by some antlers mounted on the wall. "But don' worry 'bout 'Arry, I'll take care o' him. You jus' go to bed now."  
  
Ginny hugged him goodbye and walked in the direction of the castle until she was fairly sure Hagrid wouldn't see her. Then she doubled back toward the lake, up and over the hill over which she'd traversed an hour earlier in the evening.  
  
She walked up the crest of the hill and saw Draco lying on his back, still and unmoving. His arms were folded loosely behind his head, and his robe collar was turned up. As Ginny drew closer she saw that his eyes were closed and his face relaxed and peaceful. She sat quietly next to him, cross-legged.  
  
"Draco," she whispered, hovering over him. In the unusually bright moonlight she could make out a spattering of very small, light freckles across his nose and his high cheekbones. His eyelids twitched, but he didn't move. She noticed he had deep, purple bags under his eyes. No wonder he was asleep . . . Poor guy needed it. "Draco," she whispered louder, placing a hand on his arm and jiggling it. "Draco!"  
  
His eyes fluttered open, glassy and gray in the night. They brought Ginny into focus slowly, and he sighed and sat up. He cleared his throat and rolled his shoulders slightly, then turned and looked at her. Ginny swallowed, wondering how to approach her talk.  
  
"Well, that took you long enough," Draco said quietly, a bit of a smirk across his lips. He felt a little awkward from being found sleeping.  
  
Ginny smiled. "You know how Hagrid is . . ."  
  
Draco shook his head. "Not really."  
  
"Oh. Well, he just wouldn't stop talking. I personally think he needs a wife, or maybe a new dog. He's been so lonely ever since Fang died last year. So, yeah, sorry it took me a bit." She looked down at her hands and began to pull up blades of grass.  
  
He shrugged. "It's all right. I got in a bit of a siesta." Ginny giggled at his word choice. "What? Can't a guy say 'siesta' and not be laughed at?" He grinned crookedly, looking criminally cute.  
  
"Nah, it's just – it doesn't seem like a word you'd say," she explained, smiling widely.  
  
He shrugged again. "I can say 'siesta'. Watch - siesta, siesta!" He laughed too in spite of himself.  
  
Their laughter trailed off into the night breeze and Ginny gritted her teeth. His good-natured disposition would make The Talk so much harder . . . How to bring it up?  
  
"Well, I still can't believe you punched Harry," she said. "I mean, was it really necessary?"  
  
Draco heaved a sigh. "_Knew_ you'd want to analyze this. Look, nobody insults me and gets away with it, all right?" His face seemed to harden.  
  
"He insults you all the time and you've never hurt him this badly before," Ginny pointed out.  
  
Draco looked into the distance, across the lake. "He's never insulted me drunk before," he offered.  
  
"Well, I don't think any 'decent man' would knock another guy out just because of some insults he made when he was inebriated - "  
  
"Look, it was about you too, okay?" Draco interrupted. "He was . . . insinuating things."  
  
"What did he say?" Ginny asked quietly.  
  
He looked disgusted. "Let's just say you have no idea how lewd Harry can be. Honestly, he's . . . Well, he's just nasty. Not to mention the fact that he was trying to - to come onto me and - and. . . " He shuddered and grimaced. "Look, I just lost it, okay?"  
  
He was acting all annoyed with her, Ginny noted. Not so soft-spoken and soul baring as he was when they were making out. Or even a few minutes ago with the whole siesta thing. Quick mood change. "Well, the least you could do is apologize."  
  
"To whom?"  
  
"Harry when he wakes up, for starters."  
  
Draco exhaled slowly, crafting his next words in his head. "I guess I should apologize to you, too. I mean this is probably the last thing you need, after all the drama in the past couple days. I just . . . I couldn't stand to hear one more disgusting word out of his foul mouth. And I was surprised, too. Harry drunk is really annoying, more than usual, to tell you the truth. But I'm – I'm sorry, Ginny, for losing it like that." He swallowed, then reached out and tucked one of her stray locks behind her ear. He blinked at her beauty. "Forgive me?" He leaned in to kiss her. She met his lips with hers, but then broke away, not sure if he really meant his apology.  
  
"Draco, I just – I just don't know about this."  
  
"About what? Why are you so upset?"  
  
"Because! You decked Harry. I can understand that you were angry at him, but knocking him unconscious? And – and this whole week has just been insane - "  
  
"Is it so hard to forgive me? I said I was sorry, Ginny. I – I mean, jeez - what else do I have to do? Why do we have to talk so much about this? I wanted to come down here to be with you, not to obsess over Harry."  
  
Ginny was surprised, and realized that Draco was probably accustomed to getting his way in arguments. She knew he was more than a little spoiled. The line about being with her was also a little disconcerting. "Look, I can't just forgive you like that" – she snapped her fingers – "and anyway, it's not just Harry, it's everything that's happened and I don't know if we should be - "  
  
"Oh, so that's why you wanted me to come down here," said Draco in a sudden moment of enlightenment. His voice became weary and sarcastic at the same time. "Because things are moving too fast and you don't know if you want to keep snogging me in secret, and nobody would approve and it would ruin your reputation." He paused when he saw her wide eyes. He tried to remain calm, although inside he seethed with frustration, and maybe the tiniest shred of regret for hurting Harry. "Am I right?"  
  
"Well – kind of, in a way," said Ginny helplessly.  
  
Draco looked hard at the grass in front of him. "I'm not going to force you to do anything," he said finally. "But I think you should know that this past week has been something fairly special and new to me. I thought you understood me, you know? And I don't know why we have to go through all this. I thought maybe we were meant to be, or something. I felt - _something_." Draco observed that he had become much better at expressing his feelings. His manly side derided his expressive side, but his expressive side took a page out of his manly side and decked it; then it reached out and took Ginny's hand. He ran his own fingers over hers.  
  
Ginny didn't know what to say. "Well . . . It's been new and special for me too, but – the truth is, I don't really know you. I mean we skipped straight from being enemies to being, like, well. You know. Like you said, I think that's a little quick and that's probably not a good thing." She paused. "If you wanna be my lover, first ya gotta be my friend."  
  
Draco looked up. "Isn't that Spice Girls song?"  
  
Ginny pondered. "Umm . . . Kind of." She smiled.  
  
Draco paused. "Don't ask how I knew that."  
  
Ginny fought off her grin, forcing herself to get back to business. "But do you see what I mean?"  
  
"Yeah, I guess. If . . . If you really feel this way, then I guess that's it, then. If this is what you want." _Please, please don't let this be what you want_, Draco thought, but didn't say aloud.  
  
"I don't know what I want anymore. I don't want this to end, necessarily, I guess. Just slow down or something. You know. Get to know you and stuff?" She frowned. What the heck was she babbling about?  
  
Typical girl, Draco huffed in his head. "Just be friends, you mean."  
  
Ginny suddenly felt like crying. She saw how Draco understood her words – he thought she was using the well known "let's just be friends" break-up technique. "I - "  
  
"If you don't want to be with me, fine," Draco suddenly said. "But don't try to beat about the bush. Just tell me. I'm man enough to take it. I can see where you're coming from. I'm not stupid, okay? You obviously don't think this will ever work out." He exhaled through his nose, his mouth set in a grim line. _Don't yell_, he commanded himself. Yelling had never amounted to anything. "I know what you think. It was all a big mistake to begin with, and everything has to be perfect for you." He sounded so mean, but when he was angry or frustrated he said terrible things.  
  
"Nothing is perfect for me," she said honestly. She had to make him see her way.  
  
"It _is_," Draco insisted. "Your perfect family, your perfect friends, your perfect grades, your perfect boyfriend - "  
  
"I'm not perfect! Draco, this is _not_ what I want to - "  
  
"What _do_ you want?" Draco almost yelled.  
  
"I . . . I told you, I don't know," she whispered hoarsely. Her throat clenched and her jaw ached and the lake began to bend in her eyes because she was crying.  
  
"_What do you want?!_" He really did yell this time.  
  
"I don't know!" she cried out.  
  
He shot to his feet. "I don't know how to deal with this anymore. I don't know why you're confused because I know I'm not. I know what I want, and I know what I _don't _want, and I _don't_ want to be some - _blemish_ on your perfect life."

He walked away. Not stomping, or marching, or running. Just walking. He half-hoped Ginny would run after him but she didn't. Why couldn't she just forget about Harry and kiss him?  
  
She was still sitting cross-legged next to the shiny lake, still sorting out what he meant by that last outburst. She felt like she had just witnessed an explosion, and all that remained were her despair and her crazy, mixed-up life. What happened to the magic that she felt when she was kissing him? The real magic. Not the kind of magic she learned from McGonagoll. She had experienced real magic, in that classroom and in the forest.  
  
Maybe that magic was so real that it scared her.  
  
Maybe she didn't know what was good for her anymore.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
**A/N**: Whoo, long. Looks like the end, eh? Your opinion is needed. Should I draw out their story or end it soon? I don't really want it to become a soap opera, although it pretty much is. Also, I apologize for Draco's fluctuating character. Like I said before, I wanted him to have the mean teenage-boy side he has in the books since he was extremely, sickeningly mushy before. So, your comments would be very, very helpful!

****

Edited 7/19: Okay, okay, **Newbie3**, I semi-fixed the Spice Girl lyrics. I kind of knew that I hadn't gotten them right, but the real line doesn't quite mesh with the situation, so I have Ginny saying that it's "kind of" a Spice Girls song. Sorry. :) But thanks for pointing it out.


	10. Angst

****

A/N: Okay, okay, I'm updating late again. I don't know why, but even though this story has garnered me a fair amount of reviews, I end up hitting writer's block after every chapter. Le sigh.

Nevertheless, I'm going to update and see what happens! :) I hope this turns out to be a good one. I'm also going to go back and edit some chapters. Cut down on the mushiness, you know. Some mushiness is good; other times it's like overripe watermelon – just gross and unnecessary. So, off I go!

Note after finishing story – beware the angst. But it's a long chapter, so be happy!

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Isabelle noticed with dismay that Ginny returned to the girls' dormitory that night looking hopeless and unusually tired.

"Gin?" she whispered tentatively from where she sat cross-legged on her own bed.

"I think it's over," Ginny sighed.

"What is?"

"I don't know. The past couple days. The thing with Draco." She paused. "My life."

Isabelle tilted her head sympathetically. "Ginny . . ."

Ginny shook her head and slipped into her bed, not bothering to take off anything but her shoes and outer cloak. "I'll talk to you in the morning." She yawned. "Thanks for waiting for me."

Isabelle smiled. Even in this mess Ginny was in, she still found time for manners. "You're worth it, Ginny."

The two girls lapsed into silence. Isabelle fell asleep rather quickly, having stayed up until eleven waiting for Ginny. But Ginny lay awake, staring at her canopy and twirling a lock of her hair in her hand. Should she really end it with Draco? It felt nice to be with him. Although, granted, 'being with him' was only a few minutes of kissing him. Which was nice, yes.

But before that, he'd been an absolute prick to Ginny and her friends. She was just about to call it definitely quits when she remembered him saying "Siesta, siesta!" only a few hours before. In spite of herself, she grinned in the darkness. He could be so cute. She thought of him brushing the hair off her face, ever so gently, like he knew what was coming, like he treasured every moment before she broke it off . . .

All night long, even in her eventually sleep, Ginny weighed the options. She felt like those five iron balls hanging from wires, clacking incessantly against each other, never able to settle down and _decide_ anything. Should she? Shouldn't she? . . .

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Meanwhile, Draco was nursing a butterbeer he'd bribed Pansy to get for him. He felt slightly guilty about the hopeful way she'd given it to him, making sure their fingertips touched, but he was also repulsed and had escaped to the boys' dorm as quickly as he could.

"What. Is wrong. With that girl," Draco said to himself through clenched teeth, thinking about Ginny.

"Look, Draco, at least you're getting free butterbeers out of her," said Blaise's muffled voice through his bedsheets.

Draco was about to correct Blaise as to of whom he spoke, but decided against it lest he spend the rest of the night explaining himself. And that would lead to another thing – should he lie about Ginny? He admitted to himself that he was partly ashamed – he knew everyone in his dorm harbored a deep-set resentment toward the Weasley family. He had been one of them, until the night when he and Harry decided they couldn't do something as simple as counting doors.

He was grateful to Harry, though – he knew he was better off in the long run after his experience with Ginny, even if it led to nothing at all.

Which he desperately hoped it wouldn't. In spite of everything that could – and would – go wrong, he wanted Ginny near him. He wanted to kiss her, to hear her comforting voice, to feel her soft skin under his touch.

"Draco," said Goyle's dull voice from where he sat on his bed cheating off of Crabbe's homework (which was coincidentally cheated off Draco's), "you've been drinking air for the past ten minutes, dude."

Draco lowered his mug from his lips and looked inside to see the very bottom. "So I have, _dude_," he replied in kind.

Goyle squinted at Draco. "You okay, man?"

Draco sneered. Goyle's concern was merely groveling in disguise. Just because he happened to be the best looking, cleverest, most-admired, and humblest sixth year in Slytherin . . . _Honestly_.

"I'm perfectly fine," Draco snapped back, setting his mug down into his nightstand with a thunk. "I'm going to sleep. Don't make too much noise. And by the way" – he pulled his curtains shut – "Crabbe copied the wrong essay for Potions. He copied my Astronomy homework . . . Let's let him turn it in to Snape tomorrow, it should be funny . . ."

Goyle looked down stupidly at his own homework and saw with dismay that his Potions essay was about Saturn's rings. He frowned, thought a bit, then shrugged and continued copying.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

For the next two weeks, Ginny and Draco couldn't decide what to do with themselves – or each other. Whenever they saw each other in the corridor, they stopped talking and averted their glances, faces burning. Neither of their groups of friends could figure out what was wrong with them, except for Isabelle.

"Look, Ginny, if you're so hopeless, just _talk_ to him. It can't hurt," Isabelle reasoned as they lunched in the Great Hall. Today's menu included beef stew, although Colin had found a feather in his.

"Izzy, _no_. I'm sure after that whiny talk I gave him he doesn't want anything to do with me."

"Then why is he staring at you?" Isabelle said under her breath so no one else could hear.

Ginny's head snapped up without her command and turned toward the Slytherin table, to where Draco usually sat. As soon as their eyes met, Draco dropped his gaze, reaching for the salt shaker as though he'd only just seen it. He dropped the salt shaker on the table, and, looking flustered, tossed a pinch of the salt over his shoulder before leaving the Great Hall in a rush.

Ginny moaned.

"Hey, it doesn't matter what sort of meat this is, it's _good_," said Doug fervently, spooning stew into his mouth cheerfully. He had obviously mistaken her moan of longing for a groan of disappointment with the food.

Ginny smiled. "Nah, I'm just not hungry," she said casually.

Doug shrugged. "Okay, but you better eat dinner 'cause you're barely skin and bones." He immediately looked down into his soup bowl after realizing what a flirtatious and lame thing that was to say. He had to stop doing this, he decided. Talking like a smooth operator. Which he wasn't.

Ginny blushed but obeyed him, tentatively eating some of the stew. Doug was right; it _was_ good. She eagerly ate some more, which pleased Doug and convinced him to speak up again.

"So, did you do that project in Charms for today?"

" . . . Project in Charms?"

Doug frowned at her. "Yeah, the one that – ohhh, that was the day you were sick! It's about fake charms that people sell. We discussed it in class earlier on but she wanted us to do some sort of research project on it."

Ginny dropped her spoon into her bowl of soup. "And it's due _today_?!"

Doug nodded slowly. He hadn't meant to upset her.

"Oh, my gosh!" she squealed suddenly. In her haste to grab her bookbag, her fist hit the handle of her spoon in her bowl. The spoon tipped like a lever and flung a chunk of the mystery meat down the table – where it hit Ron smack in the forehead.

The whole table went quiet for a fraction of a second, then erupted in laughter.

"Ginny!" Ron roared, his face an alarming combination of crimson and the brownish-grayish color of the stew.

"I'm so – sorry – Ron!" Ginny said between guffaws. "Do you – need my napkin?" She hadn't laughed so hard in so long. She picked up her linen napkin and held it in his direction, her hand shaking from the giggles that racked her body.

Ron snatched it from her hand and tried to clean his face off, but it only resulted in smearing it all over his face. The other tables in the Great Hall had caught on and Ron felt dozens of faces turn toward his.

Hermione, who had an ounce of pity left for her friend, grabbed his arm and dragged him toward the corridor, where he bolted into the nearest boys' bathroom. Hermione teetered with indecision, then decided her friend was more important than keeping up appearances. She slipped into the bathroom to find Ron wiping furiously at his face, muttering a long string of curses under his breath. She was surprised to hear a few French ones.

"Ron," Hermione said pacifyingly, "she didn't _mean_ to do that."

Ron growled some more curse words in reply.

"Really, it's not like she meant it in a mean way - "

"I don't care, she was laughing at me," Ron said, finally coherent.

Hermione shrugged. "Well, it _is_ kind of funny."

"Yeah, well, everyone at Hogwarts thinks so, too. Ugh, it's stuck in my hair - "

A stall door creaked open and Draco emerged. His eyes widened when he saw Hermione and Ron standing by the sinks. His usual smirk appeared on his face.

"Do you two want a little privacy?" he said condescendingly. He washed his hands in the sink, raising his eyebrow and looking at the two of them.

Ron turned crimson again. Hermione worried that he might explode the next time he blushed.

"_No_," said Ron vehemently, trying to think of an excuse or insult, anything to get the merciless Draco off his back.

Meanwhile, Draco's eyes had traveled up to Ron's bright red hair. "Looks like you had a little accident," he mused, crossing his arms in front of his chest after he'd dried them.

Ron remained red-faced. "It's none of your business," he snapped.

"Is someone a messy eater?" Draco cooed.

"Is someone a jerk-off who doesn't deserve our time?" Hermione cooed right back, causing two pairs of eyebrows in the bathroom to twitch upwards in surprise.

She ignored their shocked expressions. "Come on, Ron, let's go somewhere where we won't run into any more bast - "

The bathroom door swung open and Ginny peeked her head in. "Oh, there you are, Ron - " She took one step inside, then froze when she saw Draco. His face seemed to have frozen as well, but it could have also just been his normal cold countenance.

"We were just leaving, Ginny," Ron said gruffly.

"So soon?" Draco cut in, reverting back to his usual mean self. His eyes snapped off of Ginny and back to Ron.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Yes, before anyone gets bitch-slapped. We're out."

Draco's mouth had fallen slightly agape at Hermione's semi-vulgar reference to third year. Ginny grinned and followed them out of the bathroom, leaving Draco behind looking a combination of puzzled, amused, and sad.

Only a few seconds later, Ginny was shoved into the swinging bathroom door. She stumbled into the bathroom against the wall and watched helplessly as Isabelle magically locked the door on the other side.

"Iz!" she screeched, tugging in vain at the door.

"Not until you settle things!" Isabelle's voice declared from outside.

"Isabelle . . ." Ginny whined, feeling Draco's stare. "Let me out, this is boys' bathroom, it's disgusting in here . . ."

No answer. Isabelle had, supposedly, left.

Ginny turned to Draco, who was still standing with his arms crossed by the sinks.

"She locked me in," Ginny grumbled, leaning against the wall.

"Why?" Draco asked, rather rationally, he thought.

"She thinks we should 'settle it'," Ginny replied tonelessly.

"Settle what?"

" . . . _It_."

"Oh. _That_. Well – wait a sec, how does _she_ know?"

Ginny ran her hands through her hair nervously. "Because she saw us when we came in that night after detention in the forest."

"The Forbidden Forest?"

Ginny cut him a look. "Is there any _other_ forest we've done detention in?"

" 'In which we've done detention.' Watch your hanging prepositions." Draco felt like being annoying.

"Shut up," she retorted.

A tense silence came over the bathroom. Ginny bit her lip and peered at the stalls. "No one's in here, are they?"

Draco shook his head. "No."

Ginny looked back at him. He looked so serious and stoic, like a marble statue. Her heart began to pitter-patter when she realized her situation – alone, in a bathroom, with Draco Malfoy looking hot and – was that a flicker of sadness she saw in his gray eyes?

"So what was with Ron?" he asked, a ghost of a smile floating on his lips.

Ginny could barely contain her grin. "I flung a chunk of meat at his forehead. Accidentally, of course."

"Right . . . _Accidentally_."

"It was!"

"He was practically crying," Draco informed her.

Her smile faded a little. "Ron doesn't cry."

Draco shrugged. He uncrossed his arms and slipped his hands into his pockets. Another awkward silence descended on the bathroom and Ginny suddenly realized how far away she was from Draco. They were almost on opposite ends of the bathroom, nearly fifteen feet apart. She considered stepping closer to him but couldn't do it without feeling weird about it.

"So, what's to settle?" he said in a low voice, looking at her a little sullenly. They'd been dancing around the issue. He was sure they'd both been thinking over it thoroughly for the past few weeks and now here they were, refusing to speak about it.

Ginny cleared her throat. "I don't know," she said cryptically.

Draco frowned slightly. "Fine." He took out his wand from his pocket and aimed it at the door. "_Alohomora_." He walked over to it, past Ginny, and jiggled the door. It didn't move. He sighed and turned around to face Ginny, who was thinking that now they were barely four feet apart. Careful what you wish for.

"She used a complicated spell," he informed her, holding her gaze.

"She's smart that way," Ginny said, staring at him, remembering his touch from only a few weeks ago.

"We're not going to be out for a while."

"She's probably eavesdropping until we - "

Draco lost all self-control. He stepped forward quickly, putting his hands on Ginny's shoulders and placing his lips on hers. He felt her gasp and tense up. She almost pulled away but melted into Draco instead.

She tentatively put her hands on his waist. Her spinal cord tingled and she heard an ecstatic buzzing in her ears as they kissed. Draco felt her smiling against his mouth. Ginny leaned back up against the wall, intensely aware of everything she felt. The tile wall on her back. The heat of his kiss. The fine hair she ran her fingers through. Draco's warm hands running up and down her arms and then behind her onto the small of her back and her neck, pulling her toward him. It felt like heaven, like they were on a cloud, floating up into the sky.

Suddenly they both wrenched away from each other, panting, as rational thinking exploded in both their heads. Ginny was backed up against the wall and Draco stepped away from her, wide-eyed.

"What just happened?" Ginny was breathless.

Draco looked frustrated with himself. It was quiet for a few seconds. Then - "Why do I keep _doing_ this around you?" he burst out.

"Doing what?"

"_That_. It's like – I don't know." He closed his eyes tightly, trying to regain self-control. He rubbed his hands over his browbone, taking a deep breath.

Ginny's mind was spinning. Draco was right – they kept meeting up and then suddenly kissing. It seriously needed to stop. Or - no, it just needed to stop.

Draco apparently agreed. He had turned aside from her and was facing the wall, his forehead resting on his arm, his arm against the tile wall. "I just need to stop seeing you," he said in a low voice.

"Didn't we already - "

"No, I mean stop _seeing_ you. Eating in the Great Hall. Passing by you in the corridors. At Quidditch matches." He straightened up and faced her again, noticing her wounded expression.

"It's not you, it's – well, it's me," he said, fully recognizing the lameness of that line.

"Well, what are you going to do about it? Stop eating? Quit Quidditch?" she said back, sounding meaner than she'd intended.

Draco held up his hands in mock surrender. "Hey, you're the one who didn't want to, you know, _be_ together," he pointed out.

"Because _this_ happens!" she cried. "I keep falling into your stupid arms and _kissing_ you and I don't know why!" She took a ragged breath. "Hell, I don't even know if I _like_ you."

Draco raised his eyebrows at her curse. She must be really freaked out if she abandoned her clean language. He didn't know what to say in reply.

She stared blankly at the door handle, her emotions within her ready to spill over. "And I know we talked about this by the lake – and it's not just our reputations. I could really care less about what anybody would _say_ if we, you know, _were_ together. I mean, God forbid a Weasley go out with a Malfoy! No, it's – it's not just that, I just – I scare myself. I don't feel like you're my friend and n-nothing makes sense. I don't _get_ this." She slid down the wall onto the floor, knowing she was babbling like an idiot. But these feelings had been bottled up within her for far too long. She had no power to stop herself. "I told you before that I didn't know what I wanted, but that was a lie. I know what I want but I - I don't want to be wanting it because it doesn't make any sense." She hid her face in her knees.

She felt Draco sit on the floor beside her. "Why don't you want to be wanting - it?" he asked nervously.

Draco, nervous? This was enough for Ginny to raise her head and look at him, so close to her. "Because I don't know why I want it. I _shouldn't_ want it." Confused tears sparkled in her amber eyes. "I shouldn't want _you_."

Draco's breath became shallower at her confession. Did she really - ? Did she just say - ? He hated to admit it to himself but this was what he'd been dreaming, hoping about, for the past few agonizing weeks. She wanted him. And she was so close to him. If he leaned forward only a few inches, his nose would touch her forehead and he knew all hell would break loose again. Maybe it was just teenage hormones. But he felt this went deeper than that.

Ginny waited on tenterhooks for Draco to speak, but he looked like he was studying her face. His own face was softened, serious, confused, longing. How could two gray eyes show so much emotion? She wanted, very badly, to put her arms around him and just hold him. But she knew that if she did that, they might be in here for a very long time indeed.

"Say something," she begged in a whisper.

Draco had been deep in introspective thought. "I shouldn't want you, either," he said finally as he took in the sight of her beauty. "I'm so selfish." He sighed. "You deserve to want someone better than me." He made a move to stand up.

"But I _don't_," she said, grasping his sleeve and pulling him back down.

"Don't what?"

"I _don't_ want anyone else," she breathed, her grip on his sleeve tightening.

Draco felt pained. He had just taken a look, deep within himself, to see why he wanted Ginny so badly. He realized it was for selfish reasons. When he was with her, he felt loved, cared for. Something he didn't feel very often. When he was with Ginny, he felt it strongly. He craved that feeling when he was apart from her. And, though it caused him actual physical pain to tell this to himself, he could never give her anything in return for that. He had nothing to offer her. He was a selfish, greedy person. He scared himself.

"I might break your heart," he said in a low voice, barely audible. "I could never give anything to you. God, I'm so selfish. Ginny, please, don't do this to me. Don't do this to yourself."

Tears slid down her cheeks. It felt like there was a whirlwind within her. "Draco, don't," she pleaded. "Stop it, I – what do you mean?"

"I don't deserve you. Ginny, stop thinking about me. You don't need me." _But I need you_, he failed to add. He gently removed Ginny's shaking hand from his sleeve and stood up. Maybe it was the sheer power of his maelstrom of emotions, but he opened the door without using magic and left Ginny alone in the bathroom.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

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A/N: Oh, the angst! Sorry guys, very little snoggage here. In fact, I'm surprised there was any at all because Draco got all introspective and angsty.

I know that I've pretty much departed from the original tone of the story. I might go back and change previous chapters or even this one if everyone starts yelling at me in their reviews. But I _promise_ that there's a happy ending! Pinky swear!!

And I promise that I'll try to update faster. I'm a loser, I know. I'm sorry! I'll try to crank the next one out.

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Replies to reviewers:

Daphne-Enchanted: OO Well, I hope I updated fast enough. Yeesh, I got a little scared when I read your review. ;) Yes, I know, what is WRONG with Ginny? Her and her stupid conscience. Just take Draco and run! Grr.

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Storymind: Eh, maybe they'll get to know each other once they get over themselves. ;) I tried to give them both looks into the other's mind in this chapter – sneaky way of getting them to know each other. Bwahaha . . . Eek! Don't send your monkeys! _The Wizard of Oz_ was bad enough! :P

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BlondeChicky: Thanks for your review! You made my day. :D

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Anon: yes, Draco gets angry every now and then. ;)

Wow, all the rest of the reviews are from February or earlier. Yikes. Well, thanks to all! Please review and tell me what you think of this chapter! I know this story has become lopsided tone-wise (humor to angst? Whaaat?) but I hope this is satisfactory.

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Toastsnatcher


	11. Flow

Draco's mind was still reeling when he walked past Professor Hurst's classroom.

"Draco, could I see you for a minute?" asked Professor Hurst, known as Mabel to her students and friends. She had stepped out of her classroom and had seen him hurrying by.

Draco nodded and followed her into the classroom, not bothering to wonder why she wanted to see him. Probably about his homework or something. He slid into his usual desk by the window, still thinking about what had just happened. He was so angry with himself.

Why did he have to grow a stupid conscience all of a sudden? Why did he have to be so selfish, anyway? Why did Ginny want him when he obviously had nothing to give her?

He didn't notice when Mabel crossed the classroom toward the door.

He didn't notice when she locked said door.

He didn't notice either when she stood right in front of him, hands on hips, until she cleared her throat loudly.

"Mister Malfoy, is everything all right?" she asked, knowing full well the answer.

"Uh - "

"Did you know, I had a very distressed relative come in here a few weeks ago. And do you know _why_ she was distressed?"

Draco was completely mystified. Mabel was certainly known to be a little off-the-wall sometimes, but at other times she was pretty much off-the-planet.

She answered for him. "It was all over you, pretty boy." She took the seat across from him. "And things haven't improved much, I'd say. By the way, you've got lip gloss on your cheek."

Draco rubbed his face furiously with his hand, still very puzzled. He grasped onto the one thing he hoped he understood. "Ginny's your relative?"

"Yeppers."

"What, cousin?"

"She's really a rather distant cousin. Something like ninety-one places apart on the family tree, maybe. We tried to map it out once but we ran out of parchment." She shrugged. "Anyway, I've noticed that both you and Ginny dearest have been acting really pathetically in the past few weeks and I wanted to know what I can do to help." She nearly laughed aloud at his confused expression with a vague flicker of panic. "I'm not stupid, you know. I _know_ what happened."

"Y-you do?"

"Of course, it was obvious. Well - I also asked her, and she told me some. But really, anything I can do to help?"

Draco decided to just accept the facts Mabel had chucked at him, shocking though they may have been. "Um, no. It's really all my fault, if you must know."

"_Really_." Mabel's interest was suddenly piqued.

Draco raised his eyes from the desk to her face, looking a little wary. "Yes, _really_."

Mabel stared at him for a few seconds, trying to grasp his thinking. She failed, mostly due to Draco's usual stony-faced countenance. "Okay, and why is it your fault?"

Draco leaned back in his chair and exhaled exasperatedly. Why was she asking him these questions? "Because I was stupid and selfish and she deserves better. Doesn't matter now, it's over for good so you can stop prying."

Mabel was not put off by his rude remarks. "Draco Malfoy, stop beating yourself up. She does _not_ deserve better because there _is_ no one better. What is 'better' anyway? I'd've thought Harry was 'better' but look how that turned out. Honestly, don't go beating yourself down over her. Just go with the flow and take things that are given to you. You know? Maybe it's a rare opportunity you've been granted."

Draco gaped at her. Who _was_ this woman? Who did she _think_ she _was_? Some kind of Oracle? A walking fortune cookie? An 8-ball with legs? "You have _no_ idea how things are between us. You can't just tell me what to do," he said vehemently, resenting her attempt at helping him.

"I'm not 'telling you what to do'," said Mabel patiently. "I am merely, as an academic authority and relative of Ginny, offering you really good advice which you'd better take or else I'm failing you."

Draco opened his mouth to protest, but Mabel waved her wand at her classroom door. It popped open invitingly. Draco shot her a look of loathing and left quickly.

Even as she got together her notes for tomorrow's lecture, Mabel was thinking hard. She knew she was pretty much responsible for Ginny breaking up with Draco, but in retrospect, the advice she'd given Ginny was rash, cynical, and far too sensible for anybody's good. There was no use in life going around being sensible all the time. More often than not the world seemed to defy sensibility; why should this be any different?

Having achieved a degree in psychology from a Muggle school, she'd been psychoanalyzing Draco lately. She couldn't help herself; he was a complete mystery, and she had a penchant for solving puzzles. Then it all dawned on her when he described himself as being "selfish" and not worthy of Ginny. Despite his general bad-itude around Hogwarts, he had rather low self-esteem, most likely due to his home life. He had dug himself into a pit by being mean to his fellow students - he felt bad about being the bully, but unloaded his personal anxiety by being the bully. And now it had all come crashing down on him when he realized himself. And at that moment, Ginny had come into the picture.

It wasn't just a quest for love with Ginny. It was a quest to find himself.

- - - - - - - -

Ginny had slipped out of the boys' bathroom after carefully making sure the hallway was mostly empty. However, she failed to look above her and when she exited the bathroom . . . she paid for it.

"_Ginevra Weasley_!" said Peeves in a loud, high-pitched voice. "In a boys' bathroom? Who would have known! I shall have to speak to Professor Dumbledore about this! Might be a danger in the girls' dorms, you pervy little transvestite you!"

"Peeves!" Ginny shrieked, mortified. She glanced left and right, but luckily the only people staring were little first-years and a slouchy seventh-year she didn't know. She looked back up at Peeves again, who was staring innocently at her, batting his eyelashes. "I have to leave now," she informed him sternly. She began walking quickly towards the common room but heard him breathing as he trailed her.

"So soon? I thought we'd have a nice little talk about, say, _preferences_ and things of that rather _tender_ nature - "

"Peeves, stop it." She tried to double back the way she came in hopes of losing him. She wished desperately that he'd stop it because she was afraid she might combust if he went any further.

"I shan't. Say, whatever happened to that 'pickled toad' song? I quite liked that one. Hmm, does Harry know your little secret?"

"Peeves, _stop it_." She whirled around again, deciding to go back the way of the common room. Her temper was reaching boiling point and that, combined with her emotional state, would not be a very pretty thing when she exploded.

"If he doesn't, he sure will now. Oy, everyone! Ginny Weasley is a - hey, where did she go?"

Ginny had spied a familiar-looking door and immediately opened it and dove inside, slamming it behind her. Phew. Just in the nick of time. She could hear Peeves mumbling bemusedly to himself as he floated away. Where was she, anyway?

"Ohh," she said to herself as she looked around. It was the Room of Requirement. She blinked, thinking. Yes, she'd walked three times past it. Well, now was as good a time as any to take a breather, and this place was -

"Perfect!" she squealed to herself, spying an entire buffet of comfort food. Cool, smooth ice cream in her favorite flavor, Cookies 'n' Cream. Pretty-looking truffles on little doilies. Towers of tantalizing Oreos. Bins of sugar-coated Fruit Pastilles.

She settled into an overstuffed couch with a large bowl of ice cream. She gazed around the room at what it had determined to be the things she needed at the moment. Comfort food, squashy couches, nice dim lighting, shelves of poetry books, soft music in the background. It was paradise to Ginny, who needed a private place to sort out her thoughts. This she did while shoveling spoonfuls of Cookies 'n' Cream into her mouth.

So, what did Draco mean by saying he was "selfish"? She knew he probably was, being one of the resident jerks at Hogwarts. Well, so everyone thought, unless they were one of the few and privileged allowed to see him being friendly. But what did being selfish have to do with the way things were between them?

She sighed wistfully. What could she ever have expected from Draco Malfoy? He was a hormone-driven teenage boy. A couple kisses could never change him, no matter how sorry she felt for him. Isabelle had hit the target dead-on - she had fixer-upper syndrome.

Or was she just trying to justify her actions? Maybe she really _did_ like him. After all, how sorry can you feel for a guy who called you Weasel and who did stupid things like dress up as a Dementor in a Gryffindor match in his third year, trying to scare Harry?

She honestly could not understand him. Then again, she could barely understand herself. She scraped the bottom of her bowl, the ice cream already demolished. She gave a soft sigh, set the bowl on the floor and curled up in a fetal position on the sofa chair. It was so comfortable . . . A little nap couldn't hurt, could it?

She had one last jolting thought before going to sleep. _Does it really matter WHY I want him? Maybe I should just take a risk and do it_. The last thing she saw before her eyes fluttered shut was a poster on the wall that read "Don't Worry! Be Happy!" in large block letters over what looked like a few fish in a conga line.

- - - - - - - -

Ginny dreamed that it was Christmastime. She untied the ribbon around a large box and gasped when Draco popped out of it, smiling.

"What are you doing here?"

"Merry Christmas!"

"Draco, why are you my present?"

"Merry Christmas!"

"Look, I don't think that - "

"Merry Christmas!"

"Draco - "

"Merry Christmas!"

Ginny suddenly woke up with a start, feeling slightly annoyed. Why did she have Christmas trees on the mind? . . . She rubbed her forehead, trying to recall her dream, but all she could think about was Christmas and trees and gifts.

__

I do wish it were Christmas, though, she thought to herself as she carefully placed a few dozen Oreos into her bag for later consumption. _Then I could be at home, safe from all this chaos over here. I could finally have a break from thinking so darn much._

She glanced at the wall clock and saw with dismay that it was three in the morning. She couldn't very well make her way back to the common room - what if she was caught? She'd lose even more house points. But she was sure Isabelle would be frantic with worry by now. She probably had the entire house out looking for her.

Well, even if that were the case, Ginny didn't dare show her face in the halls at three in the morning. Mrs. Norris would probably latch herself onto Ginny's face if she caught her, and Ginny would have to do detention giving Peeves bubble baths or something equally nauseating.

No, she'd spend the night here. Tomorrow was Saturday, anyway. So she was fine in the homework area.

__

Hey, tomorrow is the Quidditch match. Gryffindor versus Slytherin. Ginny no longer played Quidditch; she almost tried out for Chaser but chickened out at the last minute. There were other players who were better than she was, anyway.

She drifted off into a comatose state on the couch, clutching a few Oreos in her hand.

- - - - - - - -

The next day at eight in the morning, Isabelle was scanning the Great Hall relentlessly, searching for her friend's face. She hadn't returned to the common room - should she have told a teacher, or was Ginny perhaps with Draco?

"Hi, Iz," said a tired voice from behind her.

Isabelle whipped around and let out a shriek. "Gin! Where have you _been_?!"

"Shh, shh," said Ginny, clapping a hand over her friend's mouth and sliding onto a seat next to her. She lowered her voice to a whisper. "I spent the night in the Room of Requirement."

" . . . _With?_"

"Wha - ? _No one_, Isabelle! Just me. I fell asleep in there by accident. It's a long story. I can tell you later."

" . . . _Well?_"

"Well, what?"

Isabelle rolled her eyes dramatically. "How did it go with - you know, in the bathroom yesterday? When I ever-so-kindly locked you two in?"

Ginny's face darkened noticeably. "We pretty much broke off whatever we had. For good."

"But _why?_"

"Because I felt it was wrong, and he said something about how he was selfish, or something. I don't know. It's better this way, I think." Ginny poured herself a large bowl of Lucky Charms, then proceeded to only eat the crunchy marshmallow bits. She commanded herself to concentrate on finding all the red balloons rather than look around the Great Hall for a certain blonde boy.

Angelina suddenly materialized at her elbow. "Ginevra Weasley."

"Why is everyone _calling_ me that lately?" Ginny said, exasperated. "I _hate_ my full name. It's Gin or Ginny, and that's - Angelina, what's wrong?"

"Where. Is. Harry."

"I don't know."

"Isn't he your boyfriend?"

"We broke up. Look, wherever Cho is, that's where Harry is." She and Angelina automatically began to search the Ravenclaw table for any sign of Cho.

"Not seeing her," said Angelina finally. "Look, Gin, the match is in a half hour."

"What if Harry doesn't turn up by then?" Ginny asked, worried.

Angelina cocked an eyebrow. "We'll either have to forfeit or . . . Are you up to being Seeker?"

Ginny choked on a marshmallow. "_What?_"

Isabelle looked interested. "Seeker? Gin, you weren't so bad at it last year."

"But - "

Angelina was nodding enthusiastically. "Yes, and you can borrow one of the school brooms."

"But I - "

Isabelle grinned. "Harry would probably be too busy staring at Cho during the match to fly properly anyway."

"But I don't - "

"Good, meet us in the changing room in fifteen minutes if Harry doesn't show up." Angelina walked briskly away from them, leaving Ginny spluttering.

"Seeker!" she cried. "I'm _horrible_. I haven't flown in _ages_. Good Lord, what did you two get me _into_? I can't do this!" She frantically rummaged around in her cereal, trying to find shooting stars. "I'm going to die unless Harry shows up. Hey, Isabelle, I'm going to go look for him, okay?"

Ginny stood up and left the Great Hall, leaving Isabelle staring at Ginny's bowl. It was still full of cereal, but all the marshmallows had been picked out.

"Well, _that's_ a great breakfast for an athlete," she cracked to no one in particular.

- - - - - - - -

Fifteen minutes later, Ginny was on the verge of a nervous breakdown in the changing room. She was dressed in Harry's robes, which were about a foot too long for her. Everyone had expressed gratitude that she had decided to show up. Ron looked surprised and worried, but he seemed all right with her playing.

"Gin, you'll do fine," said Angelina comfortingly.

"I'm beating up Harry when I find him. But hey, Gin, maybe our family games will pay off today!" said Ron brightly.

"Yes, just look for shiny things, all right?" said Doug calmly. He was a Beater. "And catch the Snitch before Malfoy does. Not much to it, really."

Ginny's breath caught in her throat. She would be playing against Draco! Oh, Lord, she really didn't feel like doing this AT ALL.

"Guys," she said in a high voice, "I don't think I can do this - "

A third year named Giles McGiles clapped her on the shoulder. He looked quite encouraging despite a heavy unibrow. "You can do this. Quidditch talent runs rampant in the Weasley family; you'll be fine."

Angelina nodded curtly. "Just do your thing. All right, team, we're going to run through those plays that we covered last practice! Red Devil and Six-Salmons-in-a-Pie-Tin! Don't forget the Gorgon fake we added in the Heidelburg split! No blagging this time, McGiles, I mean it! And Ron, watch your flacking! We don't want a repeat of the Hufflepuff game, do we?"

"No!" shouted the team as one, except for Ginny, who felt completely lost.

"What do I . . . What's that Salmon play?" she mumbled to Ron as he shrugged on his robe. She felt a distinct sort of tingling and queasiness that usually only came on right before the Potions final exam. What was she _doing_ here??

"Don't worry about it, just do your thing," said Ron unhelpfully. "I'm glad Angelina picked you for Seeker in Harry's place. To be honest, he seemed in a right state last practice. Kept flying off toward the castle. I think he's pining for you, personally, but listen, don't worry about anything. Just go with the flow."

He smiled in a brotherly fashion, then grabbed her upper arm and dragged her out on the field with him.

"Players, mount your brooms!" Madame Hooch yelled above the roaring crowd.

Ginny shakily swung a leg over the borrowed Nimbus 2001, gulping down the bile that threatened to erupt. Time seemed to slow down. She looked frantically around the stadium at the hundreds of students gathered to watch them. She glanced at the Gryffindor area and knew she was going to fail them. She looked forward again, waiting for Hooch's whistle. Her heart being palpitating when she saw Draco's very confused eyes glinting at her. Her sweaty hands slipped on the broom handle and she tried to control her suddenly ragged breathing -

Madame Hooch raised the silver whistle to her mouth and the entire stadium seemed to shudder with a sharp intake of breath.

Time sped up again. The whistle blew and Ginny pushed off the ground, still in a dazed state. How was she _ever_ going to survive this?

- - - - - - - -

A/N: Whoo, rather quick update if I say so myself! Honestly, though? I have absolutely no idea what's going to happen in the match. Any ideas would be fabuloso.

By the way, I went back and revised the first nine chapters. I cut down on the mushiness a little and put in a bit more angst. I'm fairly satisfied with the chapters now . . . I can read them without having to clap my hand over my mouth and make a mad dash for the toilet.

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Replies to my Beautimous & Beloved Reviewers:

Storymind: Don't worry, the angst will soon be resolved. (I'm thinking that when it is, the story will end. I don't really want to carry this out longer than 20 chapters.) But don't despair about Draco! He's just, as Mabel puts it, "beating himself up" because he's a hottie with a conscience. Anyway, say hi to the monkeys for me.

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Newbie3: Ahh, someone caught on to me! Yeah, I sort of knew they were wrong, but they wouldn't have made sense the real way. I semi-changed the story so that Ginny said that it was "kind of" a Spice Girls song. Thanks for pointing that out.

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Echo256: Thanks. Here's the chapter you couldn't wait for. ;)

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Mereschino: Of COURSE there's a happy ending. I hate sad endings. They make me want to (shakes fist) the author! So yes, they'll somehow end up together because if they don't I'll get (shakes fist).

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Kate: Yes, they will get together soon. Somehow. Some way.

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Daphne-Enchanted: I'm trying to get Ginny and Draco to "go with the flow" and "don't worry, be happy". (I sound like they're not even my characters in the story . . . Well, technically they're JK Rowling's.) Ginny will eventually grab Draco and run, or vice versa. ;)

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Blah: Thanks mucho! I'm glad you find it funny. :P I think everyone secretly does the eyebrow thing, even if they deny it. I find myself doing it even when I'm reading my own story. Sigh.

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Alatariel97: Everybody likes Draco! Wheee! Yes, and hopefully I won't get writer's block for the Quidditch match.

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Creativewritter: I know, I know, all authors love handing out cliffhangers. I can't stand them either in other peoples' stories. I think I'll bring out Nice Draco soon, sometime during the match perhaps? We all love Heroic Draco. Hmm.

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Thanks all for reviewing! You all made my week.

Just a warning, though - I'll be out of town until about August 10, so probably no updates 'til after that. This story will be in the back of my head, though, so hopefully I'll get some good ideas!

3

Toastsnatcher


	12. Hurt

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A/N: I'm ba-a-a-ack! And so are Ginny and Draco! . . . No snoggage, but there will be soon, so keep your pants on, folks. It's a segue chapter. The End will be served up shortly, probably within in the next 5 or 6 chapters.

- - - - - - -

Draco was confused beyond all reason. As if reality hadn't already melted his brain into a puddle - here he was at the Quidditch match, staring at Ginny Weasley, who was playing _Seeker_. Against _him_. Of all things weird he'd ever seen, this one definitely took the cake. In fact, it took the whole dang pastry shop.

He opened his mouth to demand what was going on, but Madame Hooch's whistle blew shrilly and his legs automatically launched him high off the ground. But instead of looking for the Snitch, he began to look for bright red hair.

- - - - - - -

Ginny was flying very high in the air. It was sure a good thing she didn't have a fear of heights. She suddenly began to doubt herself - _did _she have a fear of heights? _Don't look down, don't look down . . ._

She had decided to concentrate on looking for the Snitch, but a certain blonde interrupted her search.

"What are you doing up here?" he asked flatly as he flew parallel to her.

Her grip tightened on her broom handle. "I'm filling in for Harry. Nobody can find him, so Angelina asked me to play Seeker today."_ All in all a very rational explanation_, she thought.

"Is that allowed?"

"I assume so."

"This is very awkward."

"Yes, it is."

Draco said nothing, but began scanning the stadium below her. Ginny, not accustomed to scanning so quickly from so high up, felt lost. She cleared her throat. "Draco, why are you flying next to me?"

He tore his eyes from the ground and looked at her. "Why shouldn't I?"

"I don't know." This _was_ an extremely awkward situation. She was sure they were both rehashing yesterday's events in their heads.

Draco shrugged. "Okay, I won't then." And with that, he did a hairpin U-turn and flew in the opposite direction, leaving her flying slowly by herself.

Ginny became aware of the announcer, a fourth-year who had replaced Lee Jordan. He was a rather glum-sounding boy.

"The Quaffle is passed to Slytherin's Daniel Phut. Ah, I see Slytherin is running the unbeatable Stadler play. Phut passes to Studdart, who puts it in. Ten points to Slytherin. The score now stands 40-30, Slytherin in the lead."

Angelina had told her to grab the Snitch as soon as possible. She wasn't going to pressure Ginny by telling her to catch it only when they were so many points up because, as she told Ginny, Draco had gotten considerably better as a Seeker. She shouldn't also try to perform any fakes or anything fancy because, as Angelina told her bluntly, it probably wouldn't work since Ginny was only the fill-in Seeker. It was best to get the Snitch before he saw it, which Ginny thought was the point of the game in the first place.

Ginny's eyes raked the stadium, but there was still no sign of it. Way up in the cold air, the roar of the stadium was drowned out and she could focus better. She saw some glittering things, but whenever she swooped down, she realized it was someone's watch or glasses and she had to swing back upwards.

She decided to fly lower, the better to see. As soon as she began flying toward the ground, the crowd began to scream louder than usual. Her heart sped up and she whipped her head around to see what everyone was staring at.

Draco was hurtling in the air toward her, his arm outstretched and his eyes glittering. He was about seventy yards away but fast approaching. Ginny saw the Snitch fluttering away from him, and her Seeker instinct kicked in. She leaned forward until she was parallel to her broom handle, and her Nimbus 2001 began to speed toward the Snitch at a speed that nearly peeled her lips away from her teeth.

She was flying head-on toward Draco. Her concern for her personal safety was overridden for her desire to acquire a win for Gryffindor; she imagined this was what Harry felt every game.

She was close now, only about twenty yards away. The Snitch paused in its flight, dead in the middle between them. Both Ginny and Draco tried to speed up.

All of a sudden, Ginny realized how very close she and Draco were getting to each other. His face seemed to loom larger by the millisecond. For a millisecond, their eyes met, but then they both switched their vision back to the Snitch.

As the hundreds of students in the stadium gasped collectively, both Ginny and Draco reached the Snitch at the same time. They both had their right hands outstretched, and the Snitch was caught between them as if in a sandwich for a fraction of a second. Ginny's last memory of the incident was Draco's shocked expression on his usually placid face.

The high impact of their collision immediately knocked them both out cold. It was obvious that the extent of their injuries would be very great. The crowd in the stadium began to roar in alarm when they saw the two Seekers crash together and go limp like rag dolls, tangled in each others' limbs. The tumult only worsened when their brooms fell out from under them, leaving Ginny and Draco to fall.

From the ground, Hermione caught her breath at the sight. Madame Hooch had, earlier in the year, asked her to help supervise the Quidditch games. Having taken in interesting in Healing, Hermione agreed. Now, in an instant, she recognized her responsibility. The two students were completely unconscious and, she realized, obeying the law of gravity by falling through air toward the ground. Hermione could imagine that the second impact with the ground would be lethal.

"_Lentuous!_" Hermione cried, pointing her wand up at the falling couple. Immediately, they slowed down, allowing the audience to make out the two figures. They floated to the ground and landed gently next to their brooms, which they both had dropped the moment they'd crashed.

"Oh, my God!" Hermione shrieked, sprinting toward them and seeing bright red blood shining on Draco's pale face.

She arrived at the two Seekers a few moments before Dumbledore, Madame Hooch, and Madame Pomfrey arrived. Immediately, both students were placed on stretchers and whizzed to the hospital wing, Madame Pomfrey pumping oxygen into them by magic. Draco's now-crooked nose wouldn't stop bleeding, and the side of Ginny's face was beginning to turn a horrible shade of black.

- - - - - - -

"I've never seen such a sight in my entire life," declared Angelina.

"Nor I," agreed Giles McGiles. "That must have been the scariest thing I've ever witnessed."

Ron let out a small peep, the most he'd said since he'd seen his sister and the Ferret crash in the air. His eyes were still bugged out - the white showed all the way around his irises. Doug patted Ron's back in a manly yet comforting way.

The Gryffindor Quidditch team was trooping down the halls of the castle on their way to the hospital wing, where they were now (_finally_) allowed to see Ginny. Madame Pomfrey issued a reluctant permissions notice to the team, who had plagued her with owls for the past day.

The fateful Quidditch match had occurred yesterday, and only now could anybody see the two Seekers, and then only with a permission slip. The match had been the only thing the entire school could talk about for the past twenty-four hours - _Were Ginny and Malfoy okay? Would they live? More importantly, who caught the Snitch? Who won the game?_

Dumbledore was, for once, stumped. He had held three meetings in total with the Quidditch Difficult Decision Deliberation Council (QDDDC), which hadn't met since a game in 1921 when the Snitch flew itself into the open mouth of the Keeper who, understandably very surprised, swallowed it.

That decision, however, had been decided in one meeting. (The Keeper's team had won then.) This time, though, once played back on one student's Omnioculars, it seemed as though _both_ Seekers had caught the Snitch at the _exact same time_. The score, without the influence of the Snitch, stood at 40-40 when it was caught. Both teams had 3 fouls each. It was quite baffling, really. _What to do, what to do._

- - - - - - -

Ginny woke up from a deep, drugged slumber to a loud, sudden creak when the hospital wing's double doors burst open. Her eyes snapped open and brought the ceiling tiles into focus. Angelina's face appeared.

"Ginny! I'm so glad you're awake, I was afraid we'd disturb you!" Angelina cried, gently hugging Ginny lest she injure the poor girl more. The rest of the team crowded around her hospital bed.

"How are you, Gin? Organs still in place? Man, your face looks nasty," Doug offered, peering at the horrible bruising on Ginny's cheek. He eyed the various bandages wrapped around different parts of her.

"Meep," Ron managed to eek out.

"Is Ron . . . okay?" Ginny asked slowly in a dull voice, still under the effects of the magical potions administered to her. Madame Pomfrey had repaired Ginny's broken bones and fractured skull as best she could, all the while asking Ginny if she felt any pain. The truth was, she didn't feel anything, thanks to the numbing potions she'd taken.

"He's, erm, well, he'll be fine once he sees you upright and walking," Giles McGiles said. Ginny smiled at him, waking up a little more. Even though they barely knew each other, he'd been very nice to her, really.

"Yeah, he'll be all right once he sees that rodent beaten to a pulp," said Doug lightly, causing Gin to wake up fully.

"_What?_"

"Rodent . . . Ferret . . . _Malfoy_," Doug said slowly, thinking Ginny didn't get it.

"But _why_?"

"Because he's responsible for you getting put in the Hospital Ward, I guess," Doug shrugged.

Suddenly, a small blur whizzed across the room and attached itself to Ginny, squealing.

"Mmph, ech - Isabelle?" Ginny managed to squeak out while her ribs were being crushed once more.

"They finally let me in!" said Isabelle into Ginny's pillow.

The team helpfully - if a bit forcefully - pulled Isabelle away from Ginny, who was grateful to be able to breathe again

"They finally let me see you, I'd been worrying about you all day long and last night too, you wouldn't be_lieve_ the rumors I've heard flying around - is it true that you and Malfoy sneaked out of the Hospital Ward last night for butterbeer?"

Ron gave another small noise. Angelina turned to him and, seeing that he was turning blue, surmised that he was choking. She gave him a hearty slap on the back before turning back to the rest of the group.

"Um, _no_," Ginny replied, feeling very confused.

"Well, what about the double hospital bed you two requested?" Isabelle demanded.

"_No!_"

"How about the stroll you guys took through the Forbidden Forest this morning, then?"

"_Isabelle_," said Ginny firmly, trying desperately to ignore the snickers of her teammates, "none of those rumors are true. Unless they say that I've been sleeping through all yesterday and most of today. Could someone please give Ron the Heimlich? He looks like he's having a spot of trouble over there."

Doug turned and gave Ron another slap on the back. Ron had been making strangled noises for the past few moments, the result of choking on himself again in the horror of Isabelle's words.

Isabelle breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, then. If you say that none of the above rumors are true, then I believe you."

Ginny suddenly felt very weary. Her nerves had been worn thin, what with the Draco crisis and the Quidditch match. "Look, guys, it's been great visiting and I'm very glad you all came to see me and I'm sure I'll be out soon and I really appreciate your coming to the hospital wing - "

Isabelle gave a very obvious yawn, and Ginny rolled her eyes. "Oh, stop it. I just wanted to thank you guys for coming over here, but I'm super tired." She smiled gratefully at them, but no one moved. She sighed and attempted to make her intentions clearer. "So I'd be really thankful for a few quiet moments, so I can get my rest." The team beamed at her, but was still standing at her bedside. Ginny couldn't take it anymore. "So you guys have to leave! Now! Because I'm really, really, really, really tired! Good night! Out! All of you!"

The team and Isabelle finally got the point and trudged out of the hospital wing, leaving Ginny to heave a sigh.

"Jeez, Ginny," said a voice on the other side of the room from behind a blue privacy curtain. "You're really nice to your friends, you know that?"

"Shut up. I'm really tired."

"And why shouldn't you be? You've only slept for oh, twenty hours in the past day or so."

"It's the sleeping potion."

"Why are they giving you sleeping potion and not me?"

"Fine, I lied. I don't know why I'm tired, maybe because I look like I've been beat up by fifty Crabbes and Goyles?"

On the other side of the curtain, Draco had taken on a surprised expression, even though she couldn't see it. "You, a _liar_?" He grinned to himself, feeling uncommonly good-natured after a nice, long nap (which was sadly interrupted by the arrival of the team). Then he realized that grinning hurt his broken nose, so he stopped. His face was wrapped in bandages; his nose had been instantly broken when he crashed into Ginny, and a fragment of bone had pierced some capillaries in his face, causing the massive bleeding. Madame Pomfrey had told him that had the bone fragment gone any further, it would have gone into his brain and he'd've been a goner for sure. Draco had dismissed this near-death experience with a wave of his hand and had asked her worriedly if his nose would ever be straight again.

Ginny clicked her tongue. "You know, you've been sleeping a lot too. You've got no right to critique my sleeping habits when you're over there drooling and laughing in your sleep." She began to feel a little better, though still tired and achy. She wasn't sure if she liked talking with Draco like this. They'd had a few short conversations, all the while talking as if they were merely acquaintances who happened to be in a hospital wing together.

" . . . I laugh in my sleep?"

"Giggle, more like. Kind of like - eeee-hee-hee-hee!" Ginny demonstrated in a high-pitched voice.

" . . . You _are_ a liar after all."

"Good, we agree on that point. I'm going to sleep." Ginny shut her eyes pointedly, although he couldn't see.

"Do I really laugh in my sleep?"

"Good _night_. I am _going _to_ sleep_ whether you _like it_ or _not_." Ginny said firmly.

"Seriously though, how can you sleep any _more_?"

No answer. Draco sighed and gazed at the ceiling.

They'd been having little spats like this whenever they were both awake. Well, they weren't always spats, but they _were_ conversations. The slightly sadistic side of him came out when he provoked her like that; he found it kind of invigorating, making her angry, or at least irked. With the privacy curtain between them, it didn't really feel like Draco was talking to the girl that he'd vowed to stay away from. He guessed it was because he couldn't see her.

Draco had asked for a privacy curtain, uncertain that he could look at Ginny in a bed, across the room from him at that, without being drawn to her again. Ginny appreciated this and it indeed kept them from anything except talking.

- - - - - - -

Ginny was just beginning to fall asleep when the hospital wing's double doors creaked open mercilessly once more.

"What _now!_" she huffed, refusing to open her eyes.

"Oh - ah, perhaps another time then," said Dumbledore's amused voice.

Her eyes flew open. "Professor! I'm sorry, I thought you were one of my annoying friends - "

"It's quite all right, Ginny, try to calm down or else Madame Pomfrey will be after my throat, or at least the beard anyway. So, how are the two Seekers? Is Draco awake?"

Draco reluctantly pulled back the privacy curtain to see Dumbledore sitting in one of the visitor chairs at the foot of Ginny's bed. Draco sighed. "We're fine, Professor."

"Good, good . . . All right, I know you're both anxious to hear about the match's outcome. I've just met with the QDDDC _again_, and we've decided that _both_ teams won the match."

"_Both_?" Draco and Ginny spluttered in unison.

"Both," Dumbledore confirmed. "You both caught the Snitch at the same exact same time with the same exact number of points and fouls for each team. There's really no way around this . . . Unless you wish to discount the match entirely and remain on the same footing with Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff?"

"No, no," Ginny said hurriedly. "That's fine, we both win, whatever. But more importantly - when I can I go to class?"

Draco snickered at the sight of Ginny sucking up.

Dumbledore offered them a phony smile. "Once you're both healed completely, which should be around dinnertime. I trust Madame Pomfrey completely to take care of you." He stood up. "Well, it seems as though Miss Weasley wants to rest, so I'll be leaving you two to enjoy each other's company."

"Both teams won?" Draco muttered dubiously.

"Enjoy each others' company?" Ginny said doubtfully.

Draco's eyes left Dumbledore's retreating back and settled on Ginny's. He willed himself to stay put in his bed. It was difficult, though. He felt a definite pain in his chest when he looked at her; she was so injured and broken. It was all he could do to stay where he was and not envelop her in a gentle embrace. "So, Ginny."

Ginny sighed. "Can we just not talk for a while? Things have been a little weird lately where you're concerned."

Draco shrugged. "Look, let's just let it go, 'kay? I myself took it as a life lesson and moved on." He cracked a small grin, trying to pass himself off as casual (without re-breaking his nose). He had sworn to himself not to obsess over her. It worked sometimes. Mabel's advice was still in the back of his head, and he decided to relax about life in general.

Ginny's face contorted like she was crying, but no tears slid out of her eyes. "Draco, why are we pretending like it never happened?" she said in a whisper, finally reaching the edge of her emotional plateau.

Surprised slightly by her sudden drama, his smile faded and he dropped his eyes to his bedspread. "Because it's easier this way," he said honestly in a low voice.

"Sometimes the easiest thing . . . is the worst thing," Ginny said brokenly. "I can't _stand _lying here bickering with you when we both know we're just pretending. I don't care that we're stuck together right now in here. The least you can do is be quiet or take me seriously or - "

"Ginny, just relax, okay?" said Draco in what he hoped was a soothing voice. "You take life so damn seriously. Just loosen up, okay? I was trying to be nice, you know? Joke around a little or whatever. Sorry if I hurt you . . . I mean I know I hurt you, and I'm sorry for that, but I don't know how you want me to act. I mean we're just talking . . . "

Ginny looked at her feet, processing Draco's words.

Draco continued on. "And I'm not 'pretending like it never happened', I'm just - not referring to it. C'mon, Ginny, I know I'm not being horrible to you. I'm being civil, I know it." He didn't know why he was suddenly on the defensive. He switched tactics. "And anyway, like I said, just learn to relax. Look at where it got us when we tried taking life seriously." He gestured vaguely around the hospital wing.

Ginny gave a tiny smile. "It is kind of funny when you think about it," she said. "Us colliding like that." She blinked, then after a moment's pause, asked, "Hey, where's Harry, anyway? This whole situation is entirely his fault. I haven't seen him in - "

The double doors had no time to creak because they flew open so quickly. It took a second to recognize who had run into the room, panicked - Cho Chang!

She was sweating and gasping for breath. She skidded to a stop, looking around wildly. "_Hide me!_" she hissed when she saw Ginny and Malfoy.

"Cho, what are you - "

"Just hide me, quick!" Cho said in a terrified voice. She glanced over her shoulder down the hall as if she were being chased.

Draco frowned. "There's nowhere to - "

Cho cut him off by jumping onto his bed, then yanking around the privacy curtains until they were hidden completely. "Ginny, cover for me," Cho begged as she heard rapid footsteps approaching the Ward.

Draco looked up at Cho in astonishment. Sensing her panic, he whispered calmly, "What is going on?"

She shook her head at him and put a hand over his mouth. Draco tasted sweat and wrinkled his nose (ouch). He was just about to shove open the privacy curtains until he heard a creepy-sounding voice -

"Cho? Come out, come out, wherever you are . . . Ha, ha . . . "

It was Harry.

- - - - - - -

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A/N: Scary Harry!! I realized I'd quite forgotten about him, so he's back in the picture now. This story is quite confusing to me; is it to you? Oh, well, as long as Ginny and Draco get together in the end.

Yes, I know the crashing thing may have been what you expected. At first I was going to have them both catch the Snitch but become unable to pull their Snitch-catching hands apart, but . . . that was weird, even if I'd worked in some really funny events, if I say so myself. So, collision it is. _And_ it puts them both very neatly in the same hospital room - alone together! ("Alone together" = oxymoron, but whatever.)

Wow!! When I came home from Hawaii I had 147 e-mails in my inbox . . . OK, mostly spam, but a lot of FanFiction review alerts! I was sooo happy.

Attention all who reviewed me: You all are now officially my best friends. Group hug!

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Replies to Reviwers:

Luna Gypsy: Yeah, I didn't want Ginny to win either. But if Draco won, it would be kind of a lame match. So I thought, hey - why don't they BOTH win? ;) And they did. (In more ways than one! Bwahahaha . . . oh. Sorry.)

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Daphne-Enchanted: Hah, I do the "dun dun dunnnn" thing too. Life is just so much better with theme music, don't you think?

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Rednight-Rider: . . . What? Who's going to kill and kill and kill no more? You've got me a little confuzzled . . . But this story _is_ supposed to be a Romance/Humor story, so it's fine if you think it's funny. In fact it's great.

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Storymind: Actually, McGonagoll's name is Minerva. And I heard it through the grapevine that JKR mentions Ginny's full name on her website ), so I checked it out and she does - it's Ginevra. (Not GineRVA, but GineVRA.) I think that, long ago, somebody at FanFiction decided Ginny would be called Virginia, and it just caught on and suddenly all Ginny stories call her that. So, let's spread the truth! Hoo yeah! Amen brothah! . . . Ahem. But thanks for keeping me on my toes! And for keeping up with my story! You rock.

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katie: Ha, ha, you kind of scared me into cranking this one out ASAP. ;) Just don't come after me when I end this story for good, mmkay? Thanks bunches for making me feel needed! :P

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Toby Keith Fanatic: Thanks for your review! This may or may not be a stupid question, but who is Toby Keith? He sounds like a country singer. I suppose I could look it up myself but I'll leave it to you to tell me.

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Jeeths: I like your username. Thank you for reviewing me and bolstering my ego! ;)

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Professor D. S. Silvers: I'm so happy that I'm on your faves list! Hey, when I decide to get off my lazy butt and update Blizzard, I'll probably be taking up your beta offer, 'kay? I've never been beta'd before, so I'm excited!

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Creatiewritter: I'm assuming you're the same as Creativewritter. (You know it's writer not writter, right? OK good, just checking.) Aww, thanks for the compliments! I love it when people are specific in their reviews. Yeah, I decided Draco was being a fairly flat character, so I puffed him up a little in this chapter and also in the previous ones, which I went back through and slightly edited. Aaaanyway, thanks!

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FemmeDraconis: OK, I admit it, the "Merry Christmas!" thing keeps me laughing too! Is it bad etiquette to laugh at your own jokes? Oh, well. Thanks for your review!!

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kittybro: If I keep going where I'm going with Harry, you might be hating him even more. Or feeling sorry for poor, misled Harry. (Hint, hint.) But yes, Ginny and Draco have lots of problems in their lives, mostly caused by themselves (perhaps the author [yours truly] is responsible for some, too . . . hmm). Well, hopefully some of those problems will be resolved by the time the story ends! Wah, I have to think of a good ending chapter that ties up all the knots. I'm horrible at resolutions, so everybuddy wish me luck!

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Thank you everyone! You made my month. ;) Please continue to review - your input makes a difference! Lots of love the Snatcher of Toast.


	13. Peak

Ginny's eyes were wide open with shock. "Harry, what are you - "

Harry's eyes settled on her, and he smiled widely. "Hi, Ginny. Have you seen Cho?"

"Um . . . "

"About five foot six, long dark hair - "

"I _know_ what she looks like, Harry," she said. "But why - "

"Have you _seen_ her?"

Ginny was suddenly very angry about being interrupted so often in the past few minutes. "Why do you want to see her!" she said very loud and fast so Harry couldn't get a chance to interrupt her again.

Harry's smile curved up even more. " 'Cause I want her," he said, licking his lips.

Ginny's mouth fell open slightly, and she felt concerned for Cho's personal safety. "N-no, I haven't seen her, sorry."

From behind the privacy curtain, Cho gave a silent sigh of relief. She realized she was crushing Draco's bandaged knee and moved slightly, causing the mattress to let out a small squeak (sounding not unlike Ron did earlier that day).

Harry's head whipped in the direction of Draco's bed.

"Harry, that's just Draco," Ginny said quickly, feeling very creeped out by Harry's strange behavior. "He's, ah, sleeping."

"Can't hurt to look," Harry said, reaching out to pull back the curtain.

"Touch the curtain and die, Potter," Draco said in the most threatening voice he could muster up with a nose bandage. He scrambled for something to say and settled on another threat, although his wand had been temporarily confiscated (he'd tried to bewitch his bedsheets so that they were black satin). "I've still got my wand - "

"Well, then. _Expelliarmus_," Harry said easily. When no wand soared into his hand, he grinned. "Lying, Ferret?" He yanked the curtain aside, then let out a triumphant yell. "There you are, Cho! I've been looking for you all over! I swear, this love spell you've got me under is making me rabid with desire, if you know what I mean . . . "

Cho shrieked and wrenched herself away from Harry's outstretched arm. She leaped off of Draco's hospital bed and backed away from him. When he stepped closer to her, she tried to dart past him toward the double doors but he caught her around her middle.

"I'll scream!" she yelled. "Let me go, creep!"

"I can't. You've got me under a spell, literally," Harry grinned, pulling her closer.

Ginny watched the scene unfold in confusion and terror, then grabbed her wand from her nightstand. She hid it behind her back after she carefully got off her bed and stood unsteadily on the ground. "Harry, what are you doing?"

Harry ignored Ginny and began to kiss Cho's neck. With his free hand, he ripped off his glasses and tossed them aside; they were getting in the way. Cho struggled against him but he was too strong. "Help!" she tried to scream, but Harry muttered "_Silencio!_" and she couldn't talk at all.

Ginny decided Harry had gone too far. "_Stup - _" she began, but Harry was too quick.

"_Expelliarmus_," he said calmly, and her wand zipped into his hand.

"Draco, _do_ something!" Ginny yelled, detaching herself from the magical heart-monitor machine so she could start attacking Harry. He wasn't watching her anymore, engrossed in Cho's neck. Ginny darted behind Harry, then grabbed the fist in which he was clutching their wands, making sure that neither of the wands was pointed at her.

"Get - off - her!" she grunted, trying to wrench the wands out of his tight fist. "Draco - _do_ - _something_ - " Harry's other fist came out of nowhere and slammed into her face. Fortunately his knuckles hit the non-bruised side, but she nevertheless was sent spinning into the wall, emitting a strangled yell of pain.

Perhaps it was the sound of an injured Ginny that snapped Draco out of his horrified trance. He ripped off his nose bandage, feeling it would get in the way. He hopped out of bed toward Harry, who had enveloped Cho in a death grip and looked, ah, _lecherous_. Maniacally so. Draco sneaked up behind Harry, going into Seeker mode and planning a strategy. He caught a glimpse of Cho over Harry's shoulder, mouthing something. He could only make out "_The spell . . . "_ but the words after that were lost on him. He decided that he would try to physically knock out Harry instead of attempting to get the wands. It had been easy to do by the lakeside, but then again, Harry had been drunk and wasn't as reckless. Draco couldn't imagine what had come over Harry, but he supposed Cho's love spell was starting to, well, go bad.

Without saying anything, Draco brought the heel of his hand into contact with Harry's temple, causing Harry to stagger sideways away from him. Before he could think of a proper spell to subdue Draco, Harry felt the heel of Draco's hand once more, but this time in his left eye. Temporarily blinded, Harry's grip loosened as he moaned in pain.

Cho took advantage of this and tugged at the wands in Harry's fist. To her surprise, they slipped out easily and she tossed them to Draco. He caught them, but he threw them aside carelessly on Ginny's empty bed. He was consumed by the desire to _hurt_ Harry. He had never felt anything quite like it, but seeing Ginny lying still on the floor with red marks where Harry had hit her, he suddenly had one mission: injure Harry. Inflict pain on Harry. _Kill_ Harry.

He breathed hard through his nose and rolled up his sleeves. Harry turned toward him, blinking rapidly. His left eye was very bloodshot. An ugly look came over Harry's face. "You want to fight over this, huh, Malfoy? Fight over Cho?"

Draco said nothing but advanced toward Harry, stepping over the fallen magical heart monitor. He narrowed his eyes as Harry let go of Cho and shoved her aside. "Well, then. Let's fight." He threw a punch that, had it hit its mark, would have knocked Draco out cold. But Draco deflected it easily with his forearm. A fury he had never known smoldered within him. He felt a tiny shiver pass all through his body. His muscles were taut, ready.

Harry gave a bark of laughter. "Look what the Ferret - "

He had no chance to finish his sentence, for Draco's fist crashed into his jawbone, dislocating it. His other fist slammed into Harry's solar plexus. Harry gasped for breath and weakly tried to throw another punch, but Draco couldn't be stopped. The heel of his hand came up again, this time crashing into Harry's nose. Harry let out a yell of pain and sank to his knees. His vision had left him; he saw darkness all around him. And then he passed out.

Draco lifted the heel of his foot, preparing to jam it right below Harry's rib cage, but a moan from across the room stopped his foot just in time. It was Ginny.

He rushed over to her, snapping out of his Kill Harry frame of mind. "Ginny!" he whispered tremulously. He knelt next to her, cradled her head in the hook of his elbow, and laid a soft kiss on her forehead. Her eyelids fluttered open.

"Draco," she breathed. "You're here."

"I've always been here," he replied, and bent his head to kiss her full on the lips.

It was then that Cho led Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey into the hospital wing.

"Draco Malfoy!" Madame Pomfrey cried out when she saw the scene before her. His head popped up, surprised, and Ginny scrambled out of his arms.

"What has happened here?" Dumbledore demanded.

Cho, evidently cured of her silencing charm, let out a scream and pointed at Harry's body. "Oh, my God!"

All eyes turned to her and then to Harry. He was sprawled on the floor, unconscious. Blood shone on his face; it trickled from his left eye, dripped from his mouth, and flowed freely from his broken nose. Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey immediately knelt on either side of him and began to converse in low voices, applying various charms with their wands.

Draco and Ginny turned back to each other. Ginny looked horrified. "Did you do all that to him?"

Draco nodded. "It was weird, I was just so . . . _angry_. It felt so good to hit him."

"Don't _say_ things like that," Ginny said, nonetheless settling back into him.

"How's your head? Did he knock you out?"

Ginny waved his hand away. "I'm fine. It doesn't hurt too much. What about you? You look pretty much okay."

A half-smile came over Draco's face. "Let's just say Harry could take it, but he couldn't dish it back out."

Ginny clicked her tongue. "You didn't have to hurt him so badly. This is the second time you've beaten him up, you know."

"Don't tell me it doesn't satisfy you a little to see him like that?"

Ginny grinned. "I can't lie."

"Atta girl." He smiled back at her, taking in her beauty. He forgot all about Harry and the whole hospital wing; he couldn't believe he was sitting here, arms wrapped around Ginny, talking like old friends. Talking like they were lo -

"Draco Malfoy!" Dumbledore's voice boomed, interrupting Draco's thoughts. "Come over here, let's talk. Just a few minutes."

Draco dropped his arms from where they had surrounded Ginny and obeyed Dumbledore. "Yes, Professor?"

Dumbledore cleared his throat. He looked very tired. Apparently the events of the past few days - the Quidditch match and its consequent chaos - were taking a toll on him that was much more exhausting than battling the forces of evil. "Mr. Malfoy, Miss Chang here tells me that _you_ did this to Harry . . . single-handedly."

Draco swallowed and used Ginny's line. "I can't lie. Yes, I beat him up. But - did Cho tell you _why_?" he asked, suddenly uncertain. Was he going to be expelled . . . ?

Dumbledore heaved a sigh. "Apparently, Harry was, ah, a _bit_ out of his mind - "

"Try 'going to rape me'," Cho spat, looking with disgust at Harry's body on the ground. Madame Pomfrey was clearing up the bleeding with a few spells.

Draco furrowed his brow. "Well, it is sort of your fault, isn't it?" he muttered to Cho, unsure if she told Dumbledore this part. She bit her bottom lip. She hadn't.

"Professor, Harry was going kind of insane because . . . well, because he thought he was under a love spell," she confessed. Draco was confused - why should she be looking so guilty?

He felt a warm hand slip into his as Ginny joined the group around Harry's body. _Hi_, she mouthed cheerfully at him. All of a sudden, Ginny was feeling quite happy. Carefree, perhaps. He smiled warmly back at her.

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Is there something going on here that I don't know about? Because occurrences at Hogwarts of which I am not aware are very few and far between. Now. Miss Weasley, please stop fawning over Mr. Malfoy, and vice versa, until I sort out what Miss Chang was saying." He turned back to Cho. "He _thought_ he was under a love spell?"

Cho glanced at Draco and Ginny. "Is it okay if I tell him everything?"

Ginny blushed. "Like, . . . _everything?_" She considered this, images of Draco and their various places of snoggage. Her eyes found Dumbledore's twinkly ones behind his half-moon spectacles. She nodded.

Draco shrugged, thinking about the times he'd been with Ginny. "Sure," he said to Cho, smiling inwardly at the memories. Everything seemed fine to him all of a sudden. He had the girl, it seemed. Harry was unconscious. He had won the Quidditch match - his first win for Slytherin against Gryffindor. (Okay, so they both won. Still, though. It's the principle of the thing.)

Cho took a deep breath. And then another. "Okay, Professor. So, it all began one evening when Draco and I sneaked off to rendezvous in an empty classroom, only Harry and Ginny had the same idea. So Ginny and I were waiting in rooms right next to each other - I mean of course we didn't know about each other, we were just waiting for our guys - and then Harry and Draco can't count, so um . . . " She blushed crimson. "I ended up snogging Harry, and Draco was with Ginny and . . . things sort of went downhill from there."

Dumbledore nodded. "Apparently," he said dryly, gesturing toward Harry's limp body.

"So, when we were in the Forbidden Forest, it happened _again_ and Ginny and Harry officially broke up and I . . . I pretended to place a love spell on Harry, just to spite Draco because he was all over Ginny." She hung her head in shame.

Draco spluttered. "Wait, you _pretended_ to? As in, Potter _wasn't_ under one?"

Cho shook her head meekly.

Ginny gasped. "You mean he was attacking you under his own free will? That sick psycho-freak!" she cried.

Cho felt the need to defend Harry. "He _thought_ he was under a love spell. You guys know that, you saw how he acted!"

Dumbledore cut in. "Is this the reason he was missing the day of the Quidditch match?"

She nodded, biting her lip. Her next words were so quiet the other three had to lean in to hear them. "We were . . . in my dormitory."

Draco's eyes widened. Ginny saw him trying to hide a grin of amusement. He had to hold his breath and clench his jaw to keep from laughing. She rolled her eyes and returned her attention to Cho, who now resembled Ron in the shade of burgundy her face had become.

"So," said Dumbledore, breaking the awkward silence, his beard twitching, "all of you are at fault then for these very unusual situations?"

"All of us?" Ginny blurted, surprised. What was _she_ at fault for?

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows. "You _were_ out of bed at midnight, Miss Weasley, the night you and Harry, aha, sneaked off. Surely you agree that this goes against Hogwarts school rules?"

Ginny nodded meekly.

"All of you are guilty of that. Miss Chang, you certainly owe an apology to Harry for deceiving him, although that's technically not against Hogwarts school rules. And Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore turned to him. "I know that your motive was mostly noble, but Madame Pomfrey and I do think you went too far."

Draco shrugged. He wasn't sorry for what he did. Yet.

"And so that's why you'll be doing detention for a month with Professor McGonagoll."

"A _month_?!" Draco yelped.

Dumbledore nodded. Madame Pomfrey looked up from where she was still kneeling on the ground next to Harry. "I hardly think that's enough, Dumbledore," she said curtly, shooting Draco a disapproving look. "Considering the physical damage - external _and_ internal - he inflicted upon poor Harry here."

"Yes, I understand," said the Professor, "but what with his motives, and what Harry was apparently doing to Miss Chang here . . . "

Draco restrained himself from rolling his eyes. Every other student in Hogwarts was Miss So-and-So or Mr. So-and-So, but when it came to everybody's favorite hero, they were on first-name basis . . . Never mind that he'd just tried to take advantage of Cho.

"Miss Weasley, you will also serve detention alongside Mr. Malfoy, but only for a week. Miss Chang, you will be serving a week's detention with Professor Flitwick - he needs help with the top shelves of his personal library, you understand. And Harry . . . when he wakes up, I'll have to have a personal talk with him. His behavior for the past few weeks has been completely unacceptable."

Draco really did roll his eyes with him this time. Harry probably wasn't going to get any sort of punishment. He managed to weasel out of any accusation. And here was Draco, assigned to a months' worth of detention with McGonagoll, who disliked him because one time in class he sent a farting spell over to Crabbe, who happened to be sitting right by her desk. But that was just one time, in third year! He could hardly be held responsible for that still. _Well_, he thought to himself, _it _was_ kind of hilarious_.

Dumbledore turned away to help Madame Pomfrey lift Harry onto the bed. Madame Pomfrey had forbidden him to use any magic on Harry until she had given him a thorough check-up. (She had once had a bad experience because of a time-released spell that activated when she woke up a patient.)

Cho ran a nervous hand through her hair. "Sorry about . . . telling him everything, but it seemed like the best way to go."

Draco smirked. "So, you and Potter really hit it off - in your room, I see."

Cho blushed again, and Ginny hit his shoulder. "Oh, stop it," she clucked. "Professor, may we leave?"

"Ah, yes, if you all feel well enough to. You were going to be released tonight anyway," he replied, turning back to them. "You will all get notices by owl about your detentions." He looked around at them. "I imagine you're all a bit hungry. Your, ah, skirmish occurred during dinner, which is why nobody came to stop it," he explained. "So, you have my permission to go down to the kitchens and get a snack of some sort. And Draco, your wand's in that drawer over there." He pointed.

Draco grabbed his wand and unwrapped a few of his bandages, not wanted to walk around Hogwarts like a mummy. Ginny followed suit and was surprised to see that most of her wounds and bruises were healed. She only hoped that her face was returning to its proper color. She and Draco left; Cho had departed earlier.

Dumbledore turned back to Madame Pomfrey. "So, Poppy, how is Harry?"

She sighed. "That Malfoy boy broke poor Harry's nose and severely injured his internal organs. I'll say one thing, that Malfoy knows how to fight. I can tell he went for his solar plexus, there's bruising right under the rib cage. And he must have had a lot of force behind him when he broke Harry's nose." She paused and dabbed Harry's face with a wet towel. "I expect that he was thinking about what I told him."

"And what was that?" asked Dumbledore gently, picking up Harry's cracked glasses from the floor and repairing them with a simple _Reparo_ spell.

"I was telling him about his own broken nose, you know, from the match. I said that if the bone fragment had gone further, it would have pierced his brain and probably killed him." Silence descended for a moment. "Well, Professor, shall I revive him?"

Dumbledore nodded. "I'll leave him in your care. I have to go write up a report in my office, and also send a few letters out. Owl me when Harry's awake enough; we have to talk."

Madame Pomfrey nodded. "Will do, Professor."

Meanwhile, Cho had gone back to her dormitory, no longer hungry. That left Ginny and Draco by themselves.

"Well, want to get a bite to eat from the kitchens?" Ginny asked Draco.

He nodded. "Are you sure you . . . want to be seen in the halls with me?" he asked. He knew it wasn't fair to dump a question like that on her immediately after that ordeal; he knew he was testing her. But he wanted to know where they stood.

Ginny looked directly into his silver-gray eyes. "Yes, Draco," she said. "I'm sure, so stop obsessing, okay?" She grabbed his hand and led the way to the kitchens.

"How do you know the way?" he asked.

"Fred and George," she replied simply. "We used to sneak down here a lot. Trust me, the house-elves practically force food on you. But don't tell Hermione that."

As if on cue, a voice behind them asked curiously, "Tell me what?"

Ginny and Draco both whirled around, narrowly missing colliding again. "Hermione!" Ginny squealed.

"Ginny!" Hermione cried. She did a double take. "_Malfoy?_"

"Ah, yes, long story," said Draco, clearing his throat and averting his gaze. "Sorry, we've got to go, we're feeling a bit peckish - "

"We can wait," said Ginny pointedly. "Look, Hermione, a lot of complicated things have happened lately. One of them is us," she said bluntly. "Another is Harry with a broken nose. He's in the hospital wing."

"What! What happened?!"

"Okay, I don't know about you, but I'm _really_ hungry," said Draco, starting to go off toward the kitchens.

Ginny shrugged, smiling. "It was mostly Harry's fault, really," she said, sounding a bit dreamy. "He can't count, you know." And with that, she left Hermione standing there, mouth agape.

Draco breathed a sigh of relief as they left her; Ginny glanced sideways at him and grinned. "Still afraid of Hermione slapping you?"

"Hey," said Draco defensively, "it _hurt_, okay?"

Ginny walked closer to Draco, still holding hands. This felt so _right_. "Oh, whatever, Mr. Ninja Black Belt," she teased. "Seriously, though, I was half-awake for that. You were . . . well, amazing. Where'd you learn how to do all that?"

Draco shrugged. "It just came. Well, and I knew the basics of street fighting. I once had a really good friend who was one of Dad's bodyguards when I was younger . . . Are we lost?" They were standing before a giant bowl of fruit. In a painting, that is.

"No," Ginny replied, then commanded, "tickle the pear."

"What?"

"Tickle it!"

"Okay . . . " Draco extended a few fingers toward the still life painting and tentatively tickled it. He looked impressed as it turned into a handle. "Nice."

"Brace yourself, now," Ginny warned him, then opened the door and stepped inside. "Dobby? Winky?"

"Miss Weezy!" cried Winky, rushing over to the couple. "And Sir Maffy! What a surprise! Winky wasn't knowing you were coming! Sit down, Winky brings you some eats." She scurried off and they sat down on a nearby bench.

"Did you say Dobby?" asked Draco curiously.

"Yeah, he and Winky are my buddies," said Ginny.

"Dobby used to be my family's house-elf," said Draco after a moment.

Ginny raised her eyebrows. "No kidding? Well, Winky used to be Barty Crouch's. You should've seen her a while ago, she was so depressed when he died. She's gotten better though. So, why did you let Dobby go?"

Draco shrugged. He was in too good of a mood to bring up his father's rage over Harry's actions. "Nice big kitchen," said Draco approvingly, glancing around the kitchens. He saw some house-elves making ice cream cones, probably for dessert at the Great Hall above them. "Mmm, smell those waffle cones. Hey, ask, um, Winky? Whatever her name is, ask her for one of those, I'm in an ice cream mood right now." He turned to face Ginny, marveling at how easy it was to be around her. He felt as though a large burden had been lifted off his shoulders, cliché though that sounded. He felt like he was free to be himself around Ginny. And of course he enjoyed her company.

"Yes, Sir Maffy," said Ginny in a mock-serious tone. She studied his face and cocked her head to the side. "Wow, your nose is a little crooked . . . Like, noticeably."

"Aw, thanks," said Draco, rolling his eyes. He tentatively touched his healing nose. "Who knew we'd both keep flying toward each other?"

Ginny giggled. "It's like that game Chicken, only on speeding brooms going 80 kilometers per hour."

"Yeah, guess we're lucky we got out with what we did. Although why _my_ nose has to be crooked is a mystery to me."

"What, and mar your otherwise perfect facial features?" Ginny said, rolling her eyes.

"Do I sense a tone of mockage?" Draco said, sounding shocked.

"Umm . . . let me check." She pretended to think. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure that I was mocking you." She smiled when he laughed.

Winky materialized at her elbow. "Waters, miss and sir? What else can Winky get?"

"Sir Maffy wants some ice cream," said Ginny. "In a waffle cone. Me too, in fact."

Winky nodded brightly and took off, knocking over a few pots and pans (and the house-elves carrying them) in her haste. She arrived panting a few seconds later, a waffle cone in each hand with giant scoops of strawberry ice cream piled on. Whipped cream and cherries adorned the tops.

"Aww, thanks, Winky," said Ginny. "You're an awesome house-elf."

Winky batted her eyes in flattery. "Thank you, Miss Weezy and Sir Maffy. Come again soon!"

Ginny and Draco walked slowly back through the hall in which they'd come, savoring their strawberry ice cream. It was absolutely, divinely delicious. The mark of its excellence was the silence that prevailed for five minutes between Ginny and Draco who, beforehand, couldn't stop talking and teasing each other.

A certain statue caught Draco's eye and he immediately began to count doors. "Hey," he said to Ginny, bringing her out of her ice cream trance, "come in here a sec." He stepped toward the door of an empty classroom.

Ginny looked around her and suddenly her face brightened. "This is that place!" she exclaimed.

"Yes, yes, it's that place," teased Draco. "Now get in before someone sees." He followed her into the classroom, locking the door behind him.

"So, Draco," said Ginny, hopping up onto one of the desks in the front row of the classroom, "how do you think Ron will handle this?"

"Handle what?"

"You know . . . us. I mean we _are_, like . . . _together_, sort of, right?" Ginny asked, unsure of what Draco felt.

"If it's okay with you," said Draco slowly, leaning against the teacher's desk across from her and taking a few more licks of his ice cream cone.

"It's perfectly fine with me," said Ginny. "I like how this is. I like _you_. And you know what? To hell with everyone who gossips about us or disapproves or whatever."

Draco couldn't stop smiling. "I agree whole-heartedly," he said. "You know, all that stuff I said about being selfish earlier - "

"Oh, just forget about it," said Ginny easily. "And whatever I said about wanting things. You know, it's about time we took what's given to us."

"Again, I ag - " he began, but Ginny had distracted him by licking her ice cream cone very . . . _sensuously._ "Aw, come on, now," he grinned, setting his half-eaten cone on the desk behind him and hopping down. He stepped closer to Ginny and wrapped his arms around her waist. "How come the ice cream gets all the action?"

"Draco!" Ginny mock-gasped. "My goodness." She smiled widely and tossed her own ice cream cone aside carelessly. Draco's adorable face begged for the touch of her lips. "Come here, you." She put her arms on the place where his shoulders met his neck, and she leaned forward.

And they kissed. And kissed. And kissed.

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A/N: I don't know how this happened, but all of a sudden I'm really, really close to the end! This chapter isn't it, of course, we need a little more to see the aftermath of this and also so we can all _FINALLY_ sigh in relief now that Ginny got the guy. (Seriously . . . what took so long?)

There's a little more action/fighting in here than usual because I went to see _Spider-Man 2_ today. (Yes, two months after it came out. It's true; I'm a loser.) And the whole heel-of-the-hand, break-the-nose-pierce-the-brain, solar plexus thing is all dedicated to my sixth grade PE class, where we learned "self-defense". I hated my PE teacher but I guess what I learned has finally served its purpose: giving you a good fight scene.

Wow, over 90 reviews! (Refuses to admit that it's mostly due to multiple postings.) Thanks, you guys.

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Thanks, all my reviewers! Your replies:

DancerForLife3320: Thanks for your review! :D Hey, my friend loves dancing too. What kind of dancing do you do?

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Storymind: Oh, yeah, gotta have those trademark Hogwarts rumors floatin' around. Hey, thank you soooo much for sticking with my story! If I could I'd give you a big bear hug, but as it is I can only give you a virtual one, so bear hug

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Dracosbaby: Haha, I'm glad you like Evil Harry. He's always such a good guy in the real books; why not let the insane side of him loose every once in a while, eh? Thanks for reviewing.

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Stella7: Here's your un-confused snogging. Finally. I couldn't stop smiling when I wrote it; I know, I'm a huge dork, but it's gratifying to see your lead characters get together at last. I'm thinking of letting Draco keep the crooked nose. Crooked noses are sometimes pretty cute, like Owen Wilson, ya know? ;)

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Mi: Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you. Goodness, you didn't have to hit the button _so_ many times! ;) No worries. I'm a review obsessive; the more, the merrier, so let's pretend there's no "remove reviews" option. Thanks for your compliments! And yeah, I _still_ do the eyebrow thing! And I sometimes nod a little bit, too, if the character in the story does that.

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Julia: Thanks! I'm glad you like my story. Thank you for taking the time to leave a note!

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Toby Keith Fanatic: Am I good, or am I good? Yes, I know a country-singer-type name when I see it. ;) Thanks for answering my question, haha. Also thanks for reviewing again! I'm glad you're keeping up with the story.

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FickleFickleMuse: Thanks for the flattering compliments! I love sarcasm. If only I could be so witty in real life . . . ;) Anyway, you've got a good story so far! People are liking it, too, I see. Keep it up! And I like the username.

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TarynMalfoy88: Yeah, so they finally "got over themselves" and got together. And it's about time, if you ask me. Sheesh. You'd think that if you had Draco Malfoy practically throwing himself at you, you'd go along with it. Well, anyway. Thanks for the review! Hope you liked this chapter.

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Chalkandgatorade: I like your username. Creepy Harry was fun, even if he was only there for a little bit before being knocked out. And yeah, I love cliffhangers! I can't resist teasing you guys. And hey, it often keeps the readers readin', dudn't it? ;) (don't know why I suddenly had an accent there . . . ) Anyway, glad you think it's a cute story!

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Hoppers: Ooh, glad to hear I'm keeping Draco IC, at least when he's being the way he was originally written. But we couldn't have him be mean through and through, eh? Otherwise, I don't think I'd be able to truly like him very much. Glad to hear you liked Chappie 10! A little too angst-ridden for me, but I was probably listening to Dashboard Confessional or something when I wrote it. Anyway, thanks so much for reviewing!

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Daphne-Enchanted: Wow, you're good. I didn't even _think_ about the whole "crashing into each other" thing. I think you just provided part of the end scene! :D You rock.

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Thanks to all my reviewers (and those who read but don't review)! Other hugs and kisses go out to the people who put me on their Faves/Author Alert lists. Y'all make me feel so warm 'n' fuzzy inside.

I've dropped all the other stories (fanfic and fictionpress) that I'd been working on in lieu of this one. It's my favorite. It's my baby. So thanks for reading! More to come soon.

3 Lurve,

The Snatcher of Toast

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Extra note: This review came after this chapter was posted, but many thanks to **Lady Alionae** who pointed out that Dobby used to be the Malfoys' house-elf. Whew, that was a close one! So I changed it to Winky. I'll probably thank you next chapter as well. Way to go, you! Way to keep me on my toes. ;) You know your HP stuff, eh? Muchos gracias.


	14. Giggles

"Ron!" Hermione called out as soon as she reached the portrait hole. "Ron, come quick, Harry's been hurt!"

Ron's head popped out of his dormitory door. "Say what, now?"

"Harry's got a broken nose or something! And I ran into Ginny holding hands with _Malfoy!_"

"_What!!_"

"I know! I don't know what's going on, but Harry _has_ been acting weird lately."

"Yeah," Ron panted, having just flown down a flight of steps. "Where is he, hospital wing?"

"I think so. Let's go."

Hermione and Ron ran to the hospital wing, arriving red-faced and out of breath. They stepped tentatively inside; Madame Pomfrey wasn't there. In the corner of the room, they saw a bed with a curtain drawn all the way around it.

Ron rushed over and ripped open the curtain. "Heavens to Mercatroid!" he gasped, a favorite expression of his Mum's popping out of his mouth. Harry had a black eye, a bandage around his nose, and blood matted in his messy hair. He was in a deep sleep with his mouth open; his face looked a little lopsided. A small spit bubble glistened on the tip of his tongue.

"Who did this?" Ron hissed.

"I think Malfoy had some part in it," Hermione said softly, watching Ron out of the corner of her eye. "But I don't know," she said quickly, seeing Ron tense up. "Ginny wouldn't tell me anything. She was acting weird, too. I have absolutely no idea what's been going on the past few weeks." She sighed.

"I know, me either. What with Harry missing from the match and everything. I kept meaning to ask him why he kept looking so weird and, like, desperate but I guess I was too wrapped up in Quidditch," said Ron sadly. "We're not very good friends, are we?"

"On the contrary," said a kind voice from behind them, "not everyone would rush to Harry's bedside the moment they hear he's got a broken nose."

"Professor!" Hermione exclaimed. "Do you know what happened?"

Dumbledore took off his spectacles and cleaned them on his robes. "It's all very complicated. I'm not sure how much Harry or Ginny has told you two about, ah, recent events . . . " He raised his eyebrows.

"Next to nothing," Ron muttered, running a hand through his bright red hair.

"Ah. Well, perhaps I'd better break the news to you. Harry's been pining for Cho, under the impression that he had been put under a love spell, only it was fake. Do you see?"

Hermione frowned. "Cho? Fake love spell? . . . And that got him beaten up?"

"I'm getting there. He, ah, began to take advantage of Cho in this hospital wing earlier today, but Mr. Malfoy jumped in and stopped him." He put his spectacles back onto his face. "And you'll have to ask Ginny about the situation between her and Draco, as I'm not totally clear on how that came about."

"There's a - _situation?_" Ron choked, paling.

Harry stirred, and Dumbledore looked at him keenly. "Perhaps Harry can see you two later? I need to talk with him," he said.

"Okay," said Hermione obediently, leading Ron forcefully out of the hospital wing.

Meanwhile, Ginny and Draco were walking back through the castle. She leaned her head on his shoulder as they walked.

"That was fun," she said, smiling.

"We definitely need to do that more often," agreed Draco. "If I live to see another day. I'll be honest, the prospect of, uh, your _brother_ quite terrifies me."

"Oh, don't worry, I'll butter him up. It's not any of his business anyway; it's what I want."

"Are you totally sure?" Draco asked.

"Stop sounding insecure," Ginny admonished. "Yes, I'm sure." She wasn't sure how exactly they both came about to be in each other's arms like this, but she wasn't about to ask questions. She figured it had something to do with the all the excitement in the hospital wing. Whatever it was, both she and Draco had realized that they wanted to be with each other. And so here they were.

"Just checking," Draco shrugged. He began to turn into a hallway on the left, but Ginny was turning right. This was brought to their attention because their hands were still clasped.

"Oof!" yelped Ginny, her shoulder nearly popping out of its socket.

"Oh, sorry," said Draco. "Um, I was going that way . . . " He pointed vaguely to the hallway.

"And Gryffindor's to the right," countered Ginny.

Draco smirked. "Is that an invitation?"

Ginny pushed him playfully. "You wish. But I really should get to bed. I'll bet that Hermione and Ron went and saw Harry in the hospital wing already, so . . . I've got some explaining to do."

He looked reluctant to part, but he touched her face gently. "Okay, then. I'll see you tomorrow then."

"For sure," said Ginny, placing her hand over the one he had against her cheek. "In Potions, right?"

"More like in the nearest broom closet," said Draco suggestively, wiggling his eyebrows.

She laughed and hit his arm playfully. "Oh, if you insist. Bye, Draco." She stood on tiptoe and kissed him once more. "And thanks for . . . well, you know."

He kissed her once more, gently. "Thank _you_," he said huskily, then went down the hall toward the Slytherin common room.

She touched her lips, heart fluttering. Everything seemed to come upon her so quickly and magically. She somehow managed to find her common room, thankful that no one stopped her on the way. She made it through the portrait hole right on time; she would lose no house points this time.

As soon as her foot hit the carpet of the common room, two freckly arms took hold of her shoulders. "What. Happened. Tonight." A few other people who were quietly doing their homework turned to look at him, slightly concerned for Ginny.

"Ron!" Ginny squealed, her thoughts about Draco broken rudely. "Let go of me!"

"Not until you tell me what happened tonight!"

She wrenched herself out of his grasp. He stood fuming at her, his face an ugly shade of red. "Fine," she said. "Harry went bonkers." She turned to go up to her dormitory, but he stopped her again.

"Ginny," he said in a much nicer tone in an attempt to coax her into telling him what went on. "Please."

She sighed and indulged him, though skipping the more _private_ details of her classroom snogfest with Draco. She was careful to speak in a low voice, lest anyone else hear. "And so that's what happened. Am I excused, _Mum_?"

Ron sank into the couch before the fireplace, rubbing his eyes furiously. "I can't believe Harry would just - _attack_ Cho of his own free will. I mean . . . this is Harry we're talking about." He looked up at her, a glimmer of hope on his face. "Suppose he really _was_ under a love spell? Or the Imperious curse? Maybe Cho has something You-Know-Who needs! I know he's been having bad dreams lately and stuff - "

"Ron, knock it off," came a voice from upstairs. "Let Gin go to bed. Nobody needs your crackpot theories. She's been through rather a lot, wouldn't you say?" Hermione was looking down upon them sternly.

Ron shrugged. "Fine. But, Ginny - are you sure you know what you're doing with Malfoy? I mean, come _on_. It's Malfoy we're talking about here . . . You know, evil pureblood Nazi Malfoy?"

She nodded, yawning obviously. "Yes, Ron, I know what I'm getting myself into. Good night." She dragged her feet up the stairs, knowing she was in for another cross-examination from Isabelle.

"Iz?" she asked wearily as she opened the door.

Isabelle hopped off her bed and hugged her tightly. "Oh, you poor, poor girl."

"What?" Ginny asked incredulously. "What are you talking about?"

Isabelle held her at arm's length with a pitying look on her face. "I heard everything you told Ron." She drew an Extendable Ear from her pocket.

"Hey!" cried Ginny. "That's mine!"

"I know it is, and it came in handy. I just . . . oh, you poor girl. You need some sleep after all that excitement."

Ginny docilely let Isabelle tuck her in. "Thanks, Izzy. You're my BFF."

"I know," said Isabelle. "When the other girls come in I'll tell them to leave you alone. Rumors are spreading like wildfire, you know. I'd say about half of them are true, but I'll have you know, not everyone believes you're, you know, _with_ Malfoy."

"Call him Draco."

"Yeah, yeah . . . " They drifted off into a comfortable silence.

Ginny's eyelids grew altogether too heavy for her, and she fell into a deep, deep sleep. By the goofy smile on Ginny's face, Isabelle could guess whom Ginny was dreaming about.

Draco slipped into the Slytherin common room after a lengthy shower in the Prefects' bathroom. The events of the day had caught up to him and he felt extraordinarily exhausted. He let out a long, slow breath.

"Malfoy?" came a grunt from one of the green couches. It was Goyle.

"What," Draco bit out, eager to relax in his bed in the dormitory. He began to climb the stairs, but Goyle grunted again.

"Wait, you got an owl."

"A what?"

"Ow-wul. This came for you, I've been keeping it safe for about half an hour now." Goyle heaved himself off the couch and extended his grubby hand towards Draco. An envelope was clutched in it.

Draco wrinkled his nose as he took the crumpled envelope from Goyle. It was moist with sweat and smelled . . . questionable. "Fine, thanks, good night," he muttered, practically running away from his minion into his dormitory.

Safe on his bed, the curtains drawn, he ripped it open. It was a letter from his father.

__

Draco -

I've just found out from the prison guard who heard it from his supervisor who is friends with a potions vendor whose cousin is Severus Snape and apparently_ Harry Potter has gone entirely mad! Insane! I thought I'd let you know; you enjoy this kind of thing. Have fun torturing that Weasley boy and girl about it, along with the Mudblood._

Sincerely

Lucius

PS) I've been talking with Goyle's father about a possible summer job at his brother's music store. How does that sound, son?

Draco sighed. His father was writing from Azkaban, where he was to be kept until his trial in May. Since he'd been imprisoned, he'd tried to get out on good behavior. One of his tactics was writing friendly little father-son notes to Draco, who saw through his father's plan like it was a pane of glass.

He rolled his eyes. Tossing it aside, he lay back on his bed and stared up at the top of his bed canopy. He closed his eyes and fell asleep smiling, thinking about Ginny and the special moments they'd shared. Even if they disagreed about some things - even if people didn't approve of their being a couple - he knew she would always be The One for him. He could feel it in the marrow of his bones.

The next day when Ginny woke up, she frowned. Something wasn't quite right . . . She sat up in bed, listening carefully. She heard some sort of buzzing sound.

"Isabelle?" she asked, peering out of her bed curtains. The room was empty. She bit her lip, feeling a sense of foreboding. Where was everyone? It was only six thirty in the morning on Monday. Usually everyone was fast asleep right now.

She hopped out of bed and cautiously opened the door of her dormitory. The buzzing immediately resolved itself - it was merely the entire house of Gryffindor packed in the Common Room. It seemed as though everyone was talking.

"Ginny!" someone called out. It was Isabelle. She was motioning for Ginny to come down.

Everyone stopped talking and turned to stare at her as she made her way down the staircase in her pajamas, still frowning. "What's going on?"

"Harry's been sent to St. Mungo's!"

"He's gone insane!"

"What happened last night?"

All sorts of questions were thrown her way. She yelped and looked to Isabelle for help. Isabelle leaned over and whispered in her ear -

"Professor McGonagoll told us that Harry was taken to St. Mungo's. I guess when Dumbledore talked to him last night he felt concerned for Harry's mental health or something, so he's gone. And, um . . . McGonagoll wouldn't tell us anything else. And everyone here assumes you know everything." She stepped back apologetically. "I tried to calm them down but no such luck."

Ginny looked around the common room at the dozens of faces looking her way. They waited with baited breath for her to speak.

"Look," she said finally. "Harry's business is Harry's business. It's not fair to him for me to divulge the events of yesterday. I can only hope that the other people who were involved offer Harry the same courtesy."

Everyone groaned. Doug huffed, "That's what Ron and Hermione said, too."

"Where _is_ Ron?" Ginny asked, suddenly remembering she had a brother.

"Great Hall," Doug replied. "Breakfast time." He yawned. "Blimey, I'm feeling peckish as well. Care to join me, Ginny?"

She paused. Was he flirting with her or just being a good friend? She was suddenly unsure of his intentions. She'd never been in this sort of situation when she was with Harry . . . But now that she was with Draco, she felt a keen sense of being "taken". _What do I say?_ "Um, yeah, Iz and I will come down after we get dressed," she answered. She knew Isabelle wouldn't mind.

"Mmkay." Doug plopped himself into a squashy armchair, eyeing Crookshanks, who meowed at his feet.

Ginny hooked arms with Isabelle and dragged her upstairs. Once safe and alone inside their dormitory, Ginny turned to her best friend worriedly. "Do you think Doug was flirting with me?"

Isabelle blinked. "What?"

"When he asked me to breakfast. Was he flirting with me?"

"_No_, he was being a friendly guy. Why are you so paranoid, Gin? Or is it that you have secret _feelings_ for Doug?" she teased.

"No!" Ginny laughed, bapping the back of Isabelle's head in retaliation. "Fine, fine, let's go to breakfast with the platonic Doug then."

"That's more like it. So, Gin, what's the deal with Draco?"

"What deal?"

"I mean, are you two going to eat breakfast together or just stare at each other across the Great Hall? And is he going to take you to your classes? And when are you going to reveal to the rest of Hogwarts that you're dating Hogwarts' resident bully?" She looked expectantly at Ginny, whose eyes had doubled in size.

"Gee, I never . . . I never thought about any of that until just now," she said. "You're right. How _am_ I going to tell everyone? Without getting Draco beaten up?"

Isabelle took on an expression of wisdom. "You have to think about these things before you indulge yourself in a relationship with a Slytherin, Ginevra dear."

Ginny sighed and pulled on jeans and a Weird Sisters T-shirt. Shrugging on her robe, she grinned. "I think we'll just wing it," she informed Isabelle, who was holding open the door. "I mean it can't be that hard, can it? I don't really care what random people think about Draco and me. Besides people like you and Ron and Doug and stuff."

"What about me, now?" Doug's voice called from downstairs. "I hear you talking about me!"

"Oh, nothing," said Ginny, smiling.

"Are you - gasp - _gossiping_, Ginny and Isabelle?" Doug joked, heaving himself out of the chair and holding open the portrait hole for the girls.

"Of course not. Girls? Gossip? The very thought," said Isabelle, mock-haughtily.

Ginny laughed and relaxed. She knew she'd be bombarded with questions and snide comments from the student population all day today, but for now, she'd just eat waffles with two of her good friends.

A mere five minutes later, all thoughts of relaxation had fled her mind. Random first-years she'd never noticed before came up to her asking, "Is it true Harry's gone insane?" Professor Flitwick even approached her, inquiring if she thought his condition was "life-threatening".

"_Merlin_, Gin, maybe you ought to wear a sign around your head or something," Doug suggested after he shooed off the fiftieth person. Who knew so many people were up so early in the morning? The sun had barely risen, for crying out loud.

"Yeah, like . . . 'We broke up weeks ago, don't even think about it'," Isabelle offered. "Or maybe, 'Yes! Harry's insane! That's why I'm dating Malfoy!' "

"Ha, ha, that's a good one," Doug snorted.

Isabelle opened her mouth to correct him, but Ginny elbowed her in the side. She would do this herself. "It's not a joke, you know," she said, trying to sound casual. "I really am with him."

Doug stopped outside the Great Hall's doors, shock written all over his face. "You're not serious, are you?"

Ginny nodded, feeling a little apologetic. "Yeah, I am."

He looked away slowly. "But . . . I mean you don't really hang out with him . . . you guys have always been kind of, you know, enemies, right?"

She smiled. "We got past that. Look, don't worry about me, I know what I'm doing and Isabelle's already lectured me about every possible thing. I'm, um, sorry it's such a shock to you, but it's true." She hoped she wasn't breaking Doug's heart if he had some secret crush on her, or something.

"Mmm, smell them waffles!" Isabelle interjected forcefully, taking both Ginny and Doug by their wrists and dragging them into the nearly-empty Great Hall. "Yum_my_!"

Doug frowned as Isabelle forced him to sit down. "That's so weird, though. I didn't even know you knew him. You know, you have a very complicated love life." He smirked. "Is that why Harry's gone mad? Because he found out about Malfoy?"

Ginny cut him a look. "No, he's just - it's just the pressure of being, you know, Harry Potter. Look, can I just eat breakfast please? Without being interrogated by my friends? Random strangers are bad enough."

He shrugged. "Okay, fine. Pass the waffle plate, please. Ooh, Mickey-shaped pancakes, my favorite!"

Isabelle squealed. "Me too! I love those. Especially when they've got chocolate chips in them."

"Do you ever put chocolate chips on the face for eyes and a nose?" Doug asked, grinning.

"I definitely do!" Isabelle laughed. "And like, syrup lines for the whiskers!"

"Oh, my gosh, I thought I was the only one who did that!" Doug exclaimed, adding said syrup whiskers to his mouse pancake.

"Wait, no, you have to make them straight, you dork. Mice don't have curly whiskers," Isabelle admonished.

"They so do. Jeez, Isabelle, what kind of mice do _you_ hang out with? They _totally_ have curly whiskers." He made his point by adding a curly flourish to the last whisker on his mouse pancake.

Ginny observed the pancake mayhem with interest, sitting across the table from Isabelle and Doug. _They look cute together_, she thought to herself, a small smile appearing on her face.

"Hey, when you two are done with your, um, mouse whiskers, could you pass the syrup please?" Ginny asked.

They both looked up from their pancake creations as if they'd forgotten Ginny was there. "Oh, sure," said Isabelle. She looked at Ginny's plate. "No Mickey Mouse pancake? What _is_ this? You have to have one."

"No, I really don't," said Ginny. "A waffle's fine for me."

"Waffles are boring," Doug declared. He nevertheless surrendered the syrup. "But you are what you eat, I guess." He winked.

Ginny smirked, pouring the syrup into little puddles in the valleys of her waffle. "So that means you two are mice with syrup all over your faces?"

"You got a problem with that?" Isabelle said in a serious voice.

"You wanna take it outside, girl?" Ginny said, trying to sound tough.

"What, are we from the ghetto now?" Doug snorted. "The Hogwarts ghetto?"

"Hells y - " Ginny began, but the words stopped suddenly in her throat. She was immediately transported out of Breakfast Foods World at the sight of Draco walking through the double doors. He was alone and looked exhausted. He made a beeline for the Slytherin table, where he partook of the Mickey Mouse pancakes.

"Oh, my Lord," Isabelle breathed. "He does the whiskers thing too!"

"No way," Doug gasped. "I never thought I'd say this, but . . . He must be an okay guy."

"Of course he's okay," Ginny interjected. "I'm gonna go sit by him."

"Are you allowed to?" asked Isabelle, a small bulge in her cheek where she'd temporarily stored a bite of pancake.

"We'll find out," Ginny said bravely. She picked up her plate and briskly walked toward the Slytherin table, trying to balance her fork and knife on the edge of her plate.

"Hi, Draco," she said brightly, sitting across the table from him.

He jumped slightly. "Mern'n!" he said through a mouthful of pancake. He swallowed. "I mean, good morning. You're up early."

Ginny giggled and poured herself an orange juice. "So are you. Juice?" She offered him the pitcher.

"Nah, I can't stand pulp. Gawd, I'm tired." He rubbed his bloodshot eyes furiously.

"Why? Up all night worrying about Harry?" she teased.

His face brightened. "I've thought up a new nickname for him - the Mad Potter. You know, like the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Very clever, Draco Malfoy. You going to make a theme song now? Hand out badges?"

He shrugged. "Maybe. Don't know if you've noticed, but I'm rather fond of badges."

"I've noticed. But look . . . let's try to _not_ draw attention to Harry, or to ourselves. I had to bring down my bodyguards to fend off all the first-years."

"Bodyguards? What, your girlfriend and - and the guy who's like, decorating his pancakes?" Draco frowned, staring at the Gryffindor table.

"Yeah, him. You know, I think I'm the only person at Hogwarts who doesn't decorate their Mickey Mouse pancakes," Ginny observed, staring at Draco's plate.

He blushed a bit. "Old habits die hard."

"Right. So, am I allowed to sit here at your table?" She looked around for a teacher, but it was empty this early in the morning.

Draco shrugged. "Dunno. Seems like if you weren't, the bench would like, bite you or something." He slouched over his plate, methodically cutting his pancake into small, perfect squares.

Ginny nodded thoughtfully, staring at Draco's face. She couldn't help it. She thought he was beautiful. Even with messy bed-head hair and a bit of syrup on his bottom lip. Ginny licked her own lips unconsciously.

"So, we've got detention tonight. Did you get the owl this morning?" Draco asked, looking up at her through his ruffled hair.

Ginny shook her head. "No. This morning I was practically forced to do a Q and A with the entire Gryffindor house. McGonagoll told everyone Harry was at St. Mungo's, and chaos ensued. I'm contemplating not going to class today."

Draco paused in his pancake-eating reverie. "You know . . . " He grinned at her. "That could actually be quite fun." He cocked an eyebrow.

Ginny giggled. "Are we on, then?"

Draco spontaneously did a small victory dance in his seat. "Whoo! We're playin' hooky today!"

Ginny laughed loudly. "Shh! They'll hear you!"

He waved a hand carelessly. "I don't care. Hey, we can sneak around in my invisibility cloak!"

"You have one of those?"

"They're not that rare. Potter's isn't the only one, you know." His eyes flashed mischievously. "This could be very, very fun."

Ginny smiled back. "And we get to escape people's questions and stuff."

"That's the general idea," said Draco, shoving the last of his pancake into his mouth. "_Vamanos_!" He stood up.

"Since when were you a Spanish speaker?" Ginny asked, standing up as well. "If that is indeed Spanish?"

Draco took on a wise look. "I have a facility for languages. Well, that's actually the only Spanish word I know besides, like, 'amigo'. Hey, you wanna tell your friends to tell everyone you're sick?"

"Good idea." She approached the Gryffindor table once more, raising her eyebrows. No less than seven plates were lined up, each with a differently decorated Mickey Mouse pancake on it. Isabelle and Doug were crouched over an eighth plate, giggling and arranging chocolate chips, syrup, and, to Ginny's dismay, whipped cream. Whipped cream was never good news. "Guys?"

They turned around quickly. Doug had a stripe of syrup down his nose, and Isabelle had a smudge of whipped cream across her cheek and chin. "Hi, Ginny. And Malf - uh, Draco."

Draco gave them a curt smile and nodded in greeting.

"Um, Draco and I have decided to play hooky today," Ginny said. "You know, to avoid being attacked by people who want to know about Harry. We're going to wait until it dies down a little."

Doug raised an eyebrow. "_Just_ to escape peoples' questions? I find your motives a tad suspicious."

Isabelle punched him in the shoulder. "Doug! You perv." She turned back to Ginny and Draco, who looked like deer frozen in the headlights of an oncoming car. "Of course we'll cover for you. And yes, you're quite welcome. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have a Mickey to finish." She turned back to the plate.

Doug waggled his eyebrows. "Have fun!" he offered, before returning to the pancake.

Ginny huffed a good-natured sigh as they exited the Great Hall. "Those two," she muttered, shaking her head.

Draco led her toward the Slytherin common room. "Are they, like, together?" he asked curiously. "Certainly seemed like it."

Ginny paused. "I don't think they're _officially_ together, but don't they make a cute couple?"

"Uhh, sure, I guess. Guys don't really have the eye for 'cute couples', you know. Here's the common room, coming up." He had led leading her through a musty-smelling stone tunnel. They emerged from behind a tapestry to a long, stone hallway. He stepped up to a large door.

"Oh, it's not very far away from the Great Hall, is it?" said Ginny. "That's a bit unfair. It's practically a kilometer from _our_ common room."

"You should probably wait out here," said Draco after he'd given the password. "Don't want to be found by Snape in there. I'll be right back, don't worry." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before entering the common room.

Ginny stood there uncomfortably. What if another Slytherin came by and asked what she was doing there? She looked both ways down the hallway, but it was empty. She leaned against the wall, letting out a long breath. She grinned to herself - _I can't believe I'm skipping class! With Draco Malfoy, nonetheless!_ She'd never felt so excited and content in months. Not since she'd been with Harry.

She was just about to ruminate on that point, but footsteps interrupted her thoughts. Someone was coming down the hallway! Without thinking, Ginny flashed across the hall and shot into the stone tunnel behind the tapestry. She went a little ways down the dark tunnel, listening intently. It was actually two people.

"That was weird," one voice said. "Well, _some_one's in a hurry, eh?"

"Yeah. Anyway, go on, what were you saying?" It was a high-pitched but still a male voice.

The first person cleared his throat. He had a deep, gravelly voice. "As I was saying, Potter's in St. Mungo's, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"And they're saying it's just the pressure of being a celebrity, right? Regular celebrity nervy breakdown. But what _I_ think is that it's because of that Weasley girl."

Ginny started in the tunnel at the mention of her name.

"Which, the little redhead? What is she, third year?" the high-pitched one asked. Ginny frowned in the tunnel. Did she really look that young?

"No, you moron, she's a fifth year. Really quite a looker, if you ask me, but that's beside the point. But I've heard rumors that she cheated on Potter," the first voice said in a superior tone of voice, as if he'd just put forth an amazing scientific theory. Ginny's mouth fell agape.

"No way! The Weasley girl?" The voices sounded closer now. Ginny hoped they weren't going into the tunnel. She thought she could probably run down to the other end if they entered it, but what good would that do? The first person would probably spread rumors that she eavesdropped on a regular basis.

"Yes! And you know what else I think?"

"What?" The second person sounded as though he were awed by the first guy's extraordinary intelligence.

"I don't think it was a Gryffindor. I think it was with - oh, hi, Draco," he said in a suddenly friendly sort of voice. "Taking the invisibility cloak out for a walk?"

"Yeah, well, you know. Actually, Professor Snape asked me to bring it into Potions," Draco lied easily.

"_Reea_lly?" the first person said. "That's so interesting."

"Is it really? Look, I've got to go. Nice chatting with you. Yeah. Later." He slipped under the tapestry and paused, looking around.

Ginny stepped out from where she was leaning against the wall in a little niche in the stone. "Hi," she whispered.

He grinned and held up the cloak. "Let's put it on."

She stepped over to him, standing close. Taking advantage of their closeness, she wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed. He chuckled and draped the cloak around them both, leaving his own arms around her. He could barely see her in the darkness, but he could see her eyes shining. He lowered his head to kiss her tenderly, fumbling slightly until he found her lips. She grinned against his mouth and stood on tiptoe.

"You ready to go sneak around?" he breathed into her neck after a bit, nuzzling her.

"You bet," she whispered into his chest. "_Vamanos_!"

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A/N: Sorry, it took me a while to update. Well, seeing as you're enjoying this story and I like writing it, I figured I'd extend the story a little further. Just a few more chapters until I wrap it up, though. Probably put in a little controversy over Harry going to St. Mungo's and stuff. More on that later. Meanwhile, Ginny and Draco are out to have some fun. I honestly have no idea what they're out to do.

As for the pancake scene, well . . . Let's just say my friends and I enjoy decorating our food as much as eating it. ;)

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Thanks to all my beeeeautiful reviewers! I heart you all!

Replies:

TarynMalfoy88: Yeah, Harry's got probs. It's okay, though; they'll be taken care of at St. Mungo's. Go Healers! Whoo.

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Miss rix: They're definitely out of denial now. Finally. It's about time, wouldn't you say? Seriously, _who_ takes thirteen chapters to figure out that they love Draco? Maybe Ginny needs to go to St. Mungo's as well.

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Lucy Saints: The end is near, my friend. Thanks for reviewing!

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Hoppers: I'm contemplating writing a sequel, but I dunno. I mean, what's to sequelize? But just in case, I stuck in that tidbit in Lucius' letter about a summer job at a music store. Maybe both Ginny and Draco could work in Diagon Alley. That could offer some fun times for them both. Ooh! And maybe Ginny could be tempted to cheat on Draco because _another_ hot guy comes into the picture! The passion! The drama! Hey, this may actually be a happening thing. Hmm. Sequels, sequels . . . What do you think?

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Storymind: Yeah, I'll probably end with a kiss. Or maybe a kiss and a witty remark. You know those witty remarks. They rock my socks. Aww yeah. ;) I'll probably spend about a week thinking of the perfect witty remark, though. I mean the end of one's story has to be super good! It has to leave the reader thinking, Wow, that toastsnatcher is GENIUS. Which is really hard for me to leave the reader thinking. :P I'll come up with something, somehow.

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Krystal1989: I like it, too.

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Fickleficklemuse: There totally is something sexy about guys fighting angrily!! Maybe we're both sadistic, but there's just _something_ about that. And of course it doubles when it's Draco doing the angry fighting. Whoo yeah. I kind of like writing fight scenes.

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Lady Alionae: Thank you thank you thank yoooooou for pointing out that Dobby used to be the Malfoys'. Seriously, how dumb am I? And I call myself an HP fan! Anyway, you rock, and I changed it so that it's Winky instead. I bow to your superior Harry Potter wisdom. ;) Way to be observant!

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FemmeDraconis: Yeah, I have to give a shout-out to Miss Winters, my evil sixth grade PE coach. She taught us some basic self-defense stuff. You know, the knee-into-groin type thing. And I learned about the solar plexus from this song, Don Gato. It's a great song, if you ever come across it. It's probably out there on the 'Net somewhere. _Oh, Senorrrr Don Gato was a cat! On a hiiiigh red roof Don Gato sat!_ Good times at kids' theater camp. Aaanyway, thanks for the compliment on the fight scene!

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Delirious Dreams: I think everyone's very creeped out by Harry. Hey, if you catch any more spelling errors, please point them out! I strive for perfection. I absolutely hate typos, especially with apostrophes and homonyms. Your/you're is an especially horrible one. So if you ever catch anything, tell me! All of you! Anyway, DD, I'm glad you think it's funny. Laughter is the best medicine. Not that any of us were sick in the first place, but still. It's the principle of the thing.

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Dakota Reynolds: Thanks.

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Thank you all for reading this! Please review, if only just a couple words to let me know how I'm doing. This was a fluffy filler chapter, true, but the end is in sight. Suggestions are welcome for fun things Ginny and Draco could do with their invisibility cloak!

P.S. 'Vamanos' means something like, 'Let's go'. The funniest ever saying of the word in a movie is in _Signs_ - "Move, children! Vamanos!" Ahahaha, funny stuff. Joaquin Phoenix is my hero.

Love,

La Snatcha de Toasted Bread


	15. Choices

**A/N: BEFORE YOU READ:** You've probably forgotten all about this story, but in case you haven't, this is important! I changed this chapter. No longer is Lord Voldemort involved! The first two pages are about the same as before, but after that it's all different and better. I had to do this so that I could actually write more and possibly finish this story. I'm probably going to wrap things up in the next chapter or so.

Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed! I love you until the board walks! I love until the fish bowls! I love you until . . . well, you get it. Off with you to read chapter 15.

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"So, who were the two people you ran into outside your common room?" Ginny asked nonchalantly. They were walking down an empty hallway, walking comfortably under Draco's invisibility cloak.

"Oh, that was Crabbe and his younger cousin, Nugget."

"_Nugget?_ His name is Nugget?"

"Yeah, well, Crabbe's family's a little off their respective rockers."

Ginny raised her eyebrows. "A 'little'? Okay, whatever. But - I always thought Crabbe was so stupid. He's quite the little gossip, I'll have you know."

"Oh, he's stupid in his own right, of course. But he does have the memory for gossip. And unfortunately for us, so does Nugget. He hangs off of Crabbe's every word. Pathetic, utterly pathetic." Draco shook his head sorrowfully. He turned suddenly to Ginny as they strolled down another hallway. "So what were Crabbe and Nugget saying?"

Ginny blushed. "That I cheated on Harry and that's what drove him mad. Since, you know, the love spell was a fake." She looked sideways at him. "I guess the first bit's true. I _did_ technically cheat on him."

He slowed down and took on an annoyingly philosophical look. "You know, maybe you really did drive him mad. Maybe that night in the forest kinda drove him over the edge, you know? I mean, if anybody else kissed you, I'd be all hot and bothered, you know what I mean?" He winked, and she blushed even more.

"Well, maybe. I don't flatter myself worth going mad over, though. But let's not talk about that, hmm? So. What should be our first mild act of mayhem?"

" 'Mild'? What is this 'mild' you speak of?" Draco asked innocently. "I thought we were going to wreak destruction and chaos wherever we went?"

Ginny grinned. "Well . . . " She pretended to think about it. "Okay, if you must. So what first?"

Draco's silvery eyes flashed again, like fish scales in the sun. "It's time to think big. Like your brothers, the bad ones."

She rolled her eyes. "The 'bad ones'? They're all bad. But you mean Fred and George, right? What would they do? . . . W.W.F.A.G.D.?"

"Double you double you fag dee?" Draco frowned.

"Never mind," Ginny said quickly. "I feel like snooping, though. How about poking around Filch's office? My brothers have found some pretty awesome stuff there. Like the Marauder's Map."

"Really," said Draco, who had no idea what the Marauder's Map was but pretended he did anyway. "Well, let's do that, then, and pray we don't get caught."

The two made their way to Filch's office, discussing the sorts of things that could possibly be in it. Draco hoped that he might find a pair of Infernally Itching Underpants, so that he might plant them in Goyle's drawer. Or Pansy's, if he could find a willing conspirator who happened to be female. It shouldn't be too hard.

Ginny, meanwhile, was hoping to find a few of Fred and George's confiscated inventions. She'd once heard them discussing Everlasting Deodorant, which sounded useful. But then she figured it wouldn't be suspicious enough for Filch to confiscate.

"Here, right?" Ginny said, arriving at the familiar door.

"You would know better than I," Draco replied. "I've been inside all of once in my entire Hogwarts career."

"That's definitely nothing to be proud of," Ginny reprimanded.

"Well," he shrugged, "if you're a Weasley, perhaps. I once heard that Weasley is Arabic for 'natural-born trouble-maker'?"

"I wouldn't be surprised," she replied, pretending initially not to catch onto his ironic tone. "If only Arabic people had bright red hair and freckles. Now, _shh_!"

Draco, whose mouth was open to shoot back a witty, sharp reply, shut it promptly at her bidding. He watched her with admiration as she expertly checked to make sure no one was looking, scanned the ground for Mrs. Norris, planted her ear against the office door to ensure its vacancy, then turned the handle silently. It was indeed empty.

"Let's stay under this cloak, just in case," Ginny whispered next to his ear. She turned away from him and didn't see the shiver of pleasure that ran down his spine at her closeness.

"Any sign of the underpants?" he hissed as they tiptoed in after shutting the door.

"_What?_" Ginny knit her eyebrows together in alarm and confusion.

"Those Infernally Itching Underpants I told you about."

"Oh, those. I don't know. Let's check those drawers over there - they usually have articles of clothing in them." She unlocked the large, mahogany chest of drawers. The artist in her admired the carvings in the wood until she realized that the engravings were actually of students being tortured. She spied two twin boys in shackles that looked suspiciously familiar.

Draco pulled open the drawer noiselessly and gasped excitedly at its contents. He pawed around carefully for the desired Underpants, but none were to be found.

"Look," he whispered breathily in Ginny's ear. He held up a pair of black leather gloves that looked normal at first, but then he slipped his hands inside. When he twitched his index finger twice, a skeleton key appeared on the tip. The other fingers held an assortment of other useful objects, including a candle, a small telescope, a guitar pick, a light source, and an Everlasting Sausage for Desperate Consumption.

"Keep those!" Ginny said, pleased with the find. Next, she found a hat that could grow different sorts of facial hair that matched the natural hair color of the wearer. It felt weird to feel her face when she had grown mutton chops, much more when she had a furry unibrow that obstructed her vision.

"Try a handlebar mustache," Draco suggested. "That would look hot on you." He winked roguishly. Ginny was surprised that he would still find her attractive with sideburns.

"Hat, grow me a handlebar mustache," Ginny mandated. Instantly she felt the little prickle of hair growing in on her upper lip. She looked down on her face and was simultaneously amused and horrified to see a bright red mustache poking out from her face a foot to the right and to the left.

"It's your turn," she decided, and handed Draco the hat. The moment the hat was off her head, the mustache was gone.

The Invisibility Cloak fell off during the transaction, but neither Draco nor Ginny noticed.

"Um. Hat, grow me a Dumbledore beard," Draco ordered with a grin. Immediately, a four-foot long scraggly blonde beard graced his front. "Hat, make my beard flash different colors," he commanded as an experiment.

Ginny squealed, nearly blinded as the beard began to flash all sorts of neon colors at a frequency that was nearly seizure inducing. "Stop!" she squeaked. "I'm blind, I'm blind!"

"Hat, no more beard! Abort the beard!" he ordered frenetically, shutting his eyes. But the hat wouldn't stop. "Hat, _abort the beard_! Stop it, I order you! Uh - Hat, grow me a toothbrush mustache!" he gasped in desperation. He and Ginny sighed in relief once the flashing beard had been reduced to a plain blonde Barty Crouch style of facial hair. They looked at each other and began to laugh.

"I liked the beard much better," said a quiet voice from the corner of the room.

Ginny screamed and Draco jumped vertically about a foot in the air, causing the hat to fall off while combining several exclamatory curses so that he yelled, "Shiiidamerlinayaaaaaah!"

The two of them whirled around to face the fireplace, out of which none other than Harry Potter emerged, covered in soot and holding broken glasses in his hand. "_Reparo_," he muttered, and slipped them back on. He dusted off his white medical gown, under which he wore a pair of baggy black pajama pants and no shoes. His hair was tousled in a pitiful way, his face was still cut up thanks to Draco, and he had deep, deep curving bags beneath his eyes, which were tired but sparkling like green-tinted mirrors.

Ginny observed all of this with a fast-beating heart. She took a half step back until she was leaning against Draco, whose chest was expanding and contracting quickly as he tried to catch his breath. His face burned magenta as his own stupid, strangled yell echoed in his ears. The Invisibility Cloak lay crumpled behind them.

"What are you doing here, Potter," he said viciously in a voice that tried hard to conceal its quavering quality. "I thought I just got rid of you."

"You tried," said Harry in a low voice. He stood evenly on both feet, shoulders slouching slightly, the image of a weary but strong man.

"Why are you here?" Ginny asked, finally able to speak. "Shouldn't you be at St. - at the hospital?"

"Well, I obviously escaped," Harry said, glancing down at his dirty hospital gown.

"That doesn't answer my first question," she said, trying to distance herself from Harry in her tone.

Harry's slow eyes traveled to the office door. "Shall I explain in here, or shall we work things out in, say, some deserted classroom?" Without waiting for an answer, he walked past them and exited the office. Ginny followed, and Draco, too, though unwillingly. He glanced at his watch - his History of Magic class would be getting out in three minutes.

"Better hurry it up, Potter," he said to the boy ahead of him. "Class lets out in three minutes. Don't want the whole castle to see you, do you?"

Harry ignored him at first, then abruptly doubled back toward them. Five steps later, as he almost collided into Ginny, who stopped walking in confusion, he turned around again.

"What are you - oh." Ginny's unfinished question was answered by the creaking of the door of the Room of Requirement.

"What the . . . " Draco frowned at the room. "I didn't know this room was here before." No one bothered to explain to him, which he found slightly irritating, but he tried to focus on the issue at hand. He entered the room to see two tables, about five feet apart from each other in the middle of the room. Harry leaned against one, arms crossed, and Draco and Ginny leaned on the table opposite, feeling awkward.

"So, what's going on, Harry," said Ginny quietly into the heavy silence. "What are you doing here?"

Harry looked straight at her, which she found discomforting, but she kept her gaze nonetheless. He began his narrative. "I came back because I came to my senses. I really don't know what's happened to me in the past few months, but I think whatever it is, it's psychologically due to our mix-up. Not - _mix-up_, per se, but rather your . . . preference for Malfoy of all people over me. I suppose I figured that I had you forever. That you were the one guaranteed thing in my life, besides the prophecy." He spat the word venomously, as though it were the bane of his life, which, Ginny supposed, it was.

"You can't blame all of this on Ginny," Draco interjected.

"I never said anything was her fault," Harry defended himself calmly. "She didn't break my nose, did she?" He paused, then carried on. "I feel awful for carrying out my problems on Cho, although there is something to be said about her use of that fake spell. Still, though, I accept that this whole mess is entirely my fault."

"And you came all the way here to tell us that," Ginny said doubtfully.

Harry shook his head. "I actually came to get my Invisibility Cloak so that I could hear everything the Healers said about me. I'm a bit paranoid, I suppose. But then when I stepped into Filch's office, well, I decided to take the opportunity."

"Opportunity for what?" Draco huffed. "Impossible though it seems, I rather dislike being cooped up in random broom closets listening to some nutcase's heart-to-heart - "

"Don't call him a nutcase!" Ginny interrupted, looking at Draco with - was that disappointment shining in her eyes?

"What, you're defending the person who deserted you for Cho, then slapped you in the face in the Hospital Wing? Where you wouldn't _be_ in the first place if he'd shown up for the game instead of - instead of _deflowering_ Cho Chang in her dormitory!"

"Will you please," said Harry as patiently as he could, "shut up?"

"Why, so you can spill more of your little heartfelt sentiments to us?" Draco shot back, his voice rising in anger.

"So I can talk to Ginny, since I might never see her again!" Harry suddenly roared, stepping forward a bit. "So I can tell her what really happened, instead of letting _you_ fill her head with lies! So I can try to make her understand how horrible I feel for abandoning her! So I can explain my actions for the past four months! So I can have one last chance - _one last chance_ to petition for her affection!"

"I have not been 'filling her head with lies'!" Draco said hotly before Harry could carry on with his tiring parallel structure. "On the contrary, I treat her better than you ever did! You cast her aside for the likes of Cho freakin' Chang, the whore of Ravenclaw! It's too late to make up for all your mistakes, Potter! Just face it - you don't always get your way!"

"I'm not asking to get my way!" Harry yelled, hands balled into fists. "I'm asking Ginny to make a rational decision! I'm asking her to lend me her ears for what could possibly be the last time she ever hears my voice!"

"Why?" Ginny broke in, her girlish voice no match for the deep, throaty roars of the boys. "Why could it be the last time? Are you leaving, or going somewhere for a bit, or what?" Tears coated her eyes but didn't dribble down, and her ears rang with the thunder of the two boys who apparently both loved her.

Harry directed his attention at her and his face softened visibly. "I'm leaving Hogwarts early," he explained hoarsely. "I'm to continue my training for - for the future under the tutelage of another wizard."

"Training." Draco found this to be immensely stupid sounding. Like Harry was training to be a ninja. Not to mention how stupid "tutelage" sounded. It didn't deserve to be a word.

"Right," said Harry without breaking his gaze from Ginny's brown eyes. "For my inevitable future. Dumbledore decided I needed more in-depth teaching than what is offered at this school."

"Who are you training under?" Ginny said in a near-whisper, finding Harry's stare to be riveting.

"It doesn't matter," Harry said in an even softer voice.

Draco did not like the looks of this one bit. His girlfriend and Harry Potter, gazing into the limpid pools of each other's eyes! Whispering sweet nothings to each other!

"All right, all right, break it up," he said roughly, swinging an arm around Ginny's shoulder and glaring at Harry. "Are you trying to engage me in some sort of fight over Ginny? Is that what you really came to do?"

"No," said Harry solidly. "I just wanted one last chance - "

"At her affections, right, right." Draco felt a bit dizzy. Why, oh, why must his life be one constant soap opera? Was it not enough that he was an unbearably attractive teenager whose nose happens to be knocked crooked in quite a winsome way? It's not like he could control genes, or random Quidditch collisions. And now Harry Potter had to step in his life and try to seduce the one lovely girl who took the time to get to know him. To laugh with him. To like him, for heaven's sake! _Leave it to Potter._

"Look, it's not like you two have been together for more than a couple months," Harry said, breaking down his calm attitude to speak somewhat spitefully.

"The brevity of a relationship does not undermine its quality," Ginny butted in, afraid of another raging argument between the boys. They towered over her, but she had a good foothold over each of them, since she was, after all, what they were fighting over.

"Thank you, Confucius," Draco said, but not in a mean way.

"Please, Malfoy, I am appealing to the man in you," said Harry. "May I please just speak to Ginny for a few minutes without your interruption?"

"No," said Draco, as though he thought the very idea were ludicrous.

"Let him, Draco," Ginny said softly. "Look, just stand here, and Harry and I can go to this corner. If he starts, I don't know, attacking me or whatever, I give you permission to rescue me." Pointed look.

She and Harry retreated to a corner of the room, where they proceeded to speak in low murmurs. Draco tried his best to eavesdrop, but his eardrums weren't that perceptive. He knew Ginny had a woman's pity, yet he couldn't help being deathly afraid that she would decide Harry was nobler, kinder, handsomer, smarter, funnier, stronger than he was, and he didn't think he could bear losing her - to Harry Potter, of all people.

Meanwhile, Harry was speaking to Ginny earnestly. "Ginny, I know that I've gone a bit wonky in the past few months - "

" 'A bit wonky'?" She raised an eyebrow. "Try criminally insane."

Wrinkles of frustration creased across his forehead. "Ginny, please listen to me."

"I am! I've _been _listening!"

"But listen to me with an open mind and heart." Once he had her full attention, he carried on. "I know I've gone crazy in the past few months, but I'm mostly back to my normal self now, whatever that might be. And I want you to know that I desperately - _desperately_ - wish that I could take back that mistake I made counting doors." He smiled bitterly. "Who'd've known that faulty arithmetic would lead to the loss of the one constant in my life?" The smile faded. "Ginny, I want you to know that I have always, always loved you. I may not have said so in so many words, but can't you understand how much I love you? Can't you see? Don't you remember that time that we sneaked out to watch the Perseid meteor shower in autumn at your house? For every falling star I saw that night, I only had one wish. One wish, Ginny. And it was that I could just stay with you, forever, because I love you. I love every part of you."

Ginny's eyes had gradually widened to the size of dinner plates as he spoke his poetic and beautiful words.

"And I know that you've chosen to be with Malfoy. I honestly can't imagine why, but maybe he's different when he's with you. And I can maybe understand that. Because when _I'm_ with you, I know that _I'm_ different. I'm _better_ with you, somehow. Ginny, I just want you to remember that we have a history together. One that you surely can't forget because it is a history so rich - so beautiful - a history so - " he struggled to find the words " - so _amazing_ and lovely and - and _life changing_. And I know that you won't give that up after just one night of - of snogging Malfoy." He looked at her so intensely that it nearly frightened her. "At least accept my apology for everything I've done to you."

"I forgive you," she said slowly. "I couldn't ever hold it against you, Harry."

"But please, Ginny. Don't you remember all those times we sneaked off together? All the fun we had? All the time you spent in my arms?" Salty tears threatened to spill over from his eyes, he was so earnest. "Don't you remember that?"

Ginny struggled with herself. She had sworn to herself, while walking to this corner of this room, to hold fast to her decision to remain with Draco. She had thought that Harry's actions had been unforgivable - but then he had opened his mouth and everything he said was true. "I remember everything, Harry," she said in a soft whisper. "I haven't forgotten."

"Then how can you possibly want to stay with _him_?" he asked her. "How can you give that up for Draco Malfoy? The person we used to laugh about together when he wasn't looking or listening? He can't possibly love you as much as I love you. But I know it's not a question of how much _I_ love you or how much _he_ loves so much as it's a question of how much you love _him_ and how much you love _me_."

Ginny took a second to work out what he meant - all the italics and "how"s bewildered her for a moment, but once she had it figured out, she sighed. "You know I love you, Harry . . . "

"I know you do," he said gratefully, smiling a little for the first time that night. "So tell me that you'll stay with me. Tell me that I can look forward to more starry nights in the future, with you by my side as every star that falls only reaffirms my love for you. Won't you tell me that you love me enough to stay with me?"

"Tell _me_," Draco's diamond-hard voice cut in from where he had finally walked over, unable to tolerate their hushed whisperings, "tell me that you're willing to give up everything we've just experienced for someone who gave _you_ up for Cho. Tell me that that strawberry ice cream meant nothing, that that night in the Forbidden Forest meant nothing, that you're willing to crawl back to your ex-boyfriend like he expects you to."

Harry seethed in anger at the interruption, but said nothing. Ginny looked tearfully at Draco's face, then back at Harry's, then back at Draco's.

"You're - you're asking me to choose, right now, between you two?" Ginny asked in a quivering but clear voice. "After all the fighting you two have already done over me - after all the injuries, both physically and spiritually, we've all gone through - it's all up to me to decide how the future will play out?"

"It's a hell of a responsibility," Harry admitted with a small, solemn smile.

"But it belongs to you, and to you alone," Draco said. "And you know it, Gin."

Ginny looked from one to the other and back again. Both faces looked at her earnestly, hopefully, attentively.

It was up to her to decide all three of their futures.

It was up to her to speak with words that would determine so much.

She took a breath . . .

. . . and opened her mouth and her heart.

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**A/N:** No way, I'm reviving this story! Whaaaaaat. After over three months of laying dormant, I suddenly decide to up and change the whole freakin' chapter!

Why, yes. I deleted 13 pages' worth of crap - funny crap, I admit, at times - but I decided to leave Lord Voldemort out of Ginny's love life. But she still has to decide between the two men in her life. I think I know who you're all rooting for. Does _anybody_ like Harry anymore?

So. What do YOU think/want will happen in chapter 16?

Sorry to be such a poor updater. But here are some thank-yous to some reviewers from long, long ago who reviewed the former fifteenth chapter.

**Sculptedangel:** so much for posting soon. But thanks for your review anyway!

**quicksilver foxx:** thanks! I love being called a genius. If that is indeed what you implied. Truthfully, though, I ripped that off of Douglas Adams' _The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy_. I am ashamed, but hey, why not use what works?

**beckysue2: **making cute babies is a talent. ;) Thanks muchly!

**amy88:** ah, true, true. Draco just has this penchant for languages, I suppose. Way to be observant!

**FickleFickleMuse:** seriously, where is the Draco in real life? Besides the guy who plays him in the movie who is, no offense to him, going through that "awkward stage," shall we say. But honestly. Message to all Draco-like men out there: you are very welcome to accidentally end up snogging me in an empty classroom and consequently fall in love with me. Really, feel welcome! Ahem. Thanks for your review, FickleFickleMuse!

**DreamGurl-de-Draco:** I think that everybody on Earth does the eyebrow thing. Glad to know it's not just me! Thanks for not not loving this story. I don't not thank you for your review!

**random gal:** all right, anybody who spends four hours reading stuff I've written deserves, like, a gold medal, some recovery chocolate, and probably some of my money. But thanks for taking the time! And for leaving a review!

**mz.sammiz:** thanks! Is Sammiz your last name? If so, cool last name.

**Deliriousdreams: **umm, yes, Fawkes, at least until I deleted all but two pages of the former fifteenth chapter. So poor Fawkes really has no role in this story anymore.

**Stormy Nights:** You know that saying that flattery gets you nowhere? . . . Well, whoever said that lied. I pretty much love you for loving my story so much. Thanks for the compliments! And midnight + starbursts fun time.

**rainbow fuzzlez: **I might do the same face thing when I'm drawing too, but I don't know, I haven't sketched faces in such a long time. Any art talent I once had is now stale and bad. But I do use my own hand for reference when drawing someone else's, if that counts. I think you're the only reviewer whose eyebrows don't go up with someone's in the story do. Nice username, by the way. :)

**Annabeave:** Harry's OK now, sort of. Thanks for your review! Happy dances are good for the body, mind, and soul. People ought to do more happy dances.

**Lucy Saints:** Sorry to make you wait some more, if you even remember this story. But you're welcome for updating the last time I updated, if that makes any sense at all. I'd be happy to stretch MMU for eons and eons but it would probably take forever to read, and who has that kind of time? So instead I'm probably ending it in the next chapter, or the next. Sadly. Thanks for reviewing!

**Red-head attack:** homework is the spawn of the devil. Sorry to take out the part you liked, but it just wasn't doing anything for me. Thanks for reviewing though! . . . looks at your username Are you Ginny, perchance?

**i-fogot-my-name:** tee-hee, I am the proud owner of an "uber story"! I shall celebrate this proclamation with chocolate chips and Butter Lite Orville Reidenbacher popcorn. However you spell Orville's last name. Thanks for reviewing and complimenting me so!

**Missmee:** OMG Mickey Mouse pancakes pretty much make my life, too!

**Storymind:** I'm glad you think I'm funny! Sorry to take out the argument on the way to Dumbledore's, but it just didn't fit. I have a hard time deleting stuff I like, but it had to be done, otherwise I would never finish this story. Thanks for your lovely review!

**Chris:** uhh, you probably haven't been checking this story recently for any updates. Sorry to be such a bad, bad updater! I'm a horrible person, I know. Thanks for reading, though!

**Baby Dagger:** OK, the guy who plays Agent Elrond is probably my favorite person ever. The way he talks is just so crisp and clean and amazing! Plus I want his Elrond wig, the one with the little loops around the hair hanging from his temples, if you know what I mean, and you probably do, if you're as OCD about LOTR as IM. I mean as I am. I got a little carried away with acronyms, my apologies. Thanks for reviewing!

Apparently everyone had asked me to update soon . . . Um . . . Oops, my bad? Blame writer's block this time. That's why I had to change it. I hope this chapter is satisfactory, even though it's not quite as funny as others have been.

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**Here's my A/N from the former chapter 15:**

**A/N:** I know, I know, you all see through my clever ruse. I'm trying to stretch out the story, right? Well, I also want to provide a _real_ climax of the story, and hey, why not throw Lord Voldemort into Ginny's tangled love life? See my point? ;)

Erm . . . I don't know how to say this, buuut . . . **I'm soooooo sorry** it took me eons to update! I blame the homework! I blame the government! I blame life! I grovel at your feet, I lay prostrate asking for your forgiveness . . . Actually, everybody probably already forgot about this story already, so whatever.

**Thanks to all reviewers! _And_ to any lurkers who don't leave a review but read anyway! And generally to everybody I've ever met in my entire life . . .**

**Reviewer Responses:**

**Storymind:** Of course they're good little teens! Anything otherwise would taint the youthful innocence of Ginny and Draco being together. I mean, besides the fact that they got together via a mix-up in trysts . . . Anyway, thanks for the compliment! 3

**FemmeDraconis:** I know! Joaquin Phoenix totally rulez, even if I can't spell his name (or "rules"). Did you know that for _Ladder 49_ he actually graduated from firefighter school? And served for a month? Man . . . But his best acting moment - I think - is in _Gladiator_, during his busy little bumblebees speech. Whoo. Bumblebees have never been the same for me. ;)

**Amber:** So, it wasn't really ASAP, but it's here, right? Thanks for the review.

**Mincihed: **Mahaha, thanks! Yeah, I have no idea where I got the pancake scene idea. Blame the fingers, they're the ones who type this crap. Seriously, though, I really want to eat some pancakes right now. Mmm . . .

**Miss Rix:** Draco Malfoy is the hottest fictional character to date, including Mr. Darcy. I mean, really. We've never seen an authorized picture, but how could he possibly be otherwise? ;)

**Saralisse:** Muchas gracias para su . . .uh, _explanation_ de 'vamanos'! I think I'm annoying my friends; I mix in random Spanish palabras into my everyday speech. They're all in Latin class, though, the smart alecks. And muchas, MUCHAS gracias for the compliment! If I saw you in real life, I'd probably hug you and give you chocolate cake. You're THAT cool.

**Dracos gal:** Well, when you're in the mood, please criticize me! You'll know when you do if I'm in the mood to be criticized. ;) Thanks for the review.

**Toby Keith Fanatic:** Ugh, I know! So much homework! It must be a teachers' conspiracy this year. Otherwise why would I be given two 100-pt essays in the same week? _In the same class?_ Gahh! Sorry for not updating soon . . . Hope you didn't forget about me. :)

**Hoppers:** Sequel, maybe. I'm stretching out this story even more, though, so by the end I might be all Ginny'n'Draco'd out. Although they're really the only good couple to write fanfiction about, right? Right-o. Maybe in the next one I'll stick Ginny in a girl rock band and Draco can somehow end up with her, even though that's the plotline of 2948594749 stories on FF. Oh well!

**Delirious Dreams:** Thanks muchly for your kind words! Haha, and thanks for liking my username. I haven't found a single person yet who _hasn't_ liked it. Which is a good thing, I suppose. :P

**Devilsdream-15:** Sorry, sorry, I'm bad at punctual updatage . . . Hey, your username definitely rhymes! Er . . . well, it's slant rhyme. Gah! Too much rhetorical analysis in English. And I think everyone loves Joaquin in _Signs_. What's _not_ to love?

**Annabeave:** Haha, nice username. Thanks for the compliment! I think that in real life - well, in JKRowling's books - Ginny and Draco would have the BEST chemistry ever. Too bad it'll never happen. Sigh. But that's why I'm writing a D/G fic:P

**Lucy Saints:** Your wish is my command! I'm stretching this story until there's no possible way for it to go on, ie, they all die. I'll probably cry whenever I really do end it. And decorating food is awesome! I once took a cake decorating class. Too bad I suck at writing on cakes. Hah. But doing borders and leaves is superfun.

**Krystal1989:** My apologies! Here's the chapter, though. And way to be blunt about what you want! Go you:D

**Lady Alionae:** You'd be a good fact-checker for a newspaper, or something. I once saw a _Monk_ episode about that. You would be a good obsessive-compulsive, too. Just kidding! _Matrix_ rules. I never did see the third one 'cause everyone was like "Bleeeeh it sucks" so I took their advice. The first one, though, was absolutely amazing. A_MAZ_ing. LOTR, meh, I can only get into the movies. Sometime when I have a month to kill I'll read the books, but not now. Anyway, I'm babbling, thanks muchly for the review and for the Dobby thing (again)! Fluffiness 4eva!

**i-fogot-my-name:** You have an ubercool username, did you know that? You probably did. Well, thanks for the compliment! You seriously make me feel warm inside and validate my meager existence in this cold and bleak world . . . That is to say, YOU ROCK!

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Thanks to everyone once again! Sorry I'm late! Based on the quality of my next set of reviews, I will update either sooner or later . . . KIDDING! I'll update as soon as I can. That could be anytime from next weekend to next November, so apologies in advance. Keep rockin'!

Looove,

toastsnatcher


	16. Snowfall

**A/N:** Just so this isn't a surprise or anything . . . This is the last chapter of Midnight Mix-Up.

* * *

It felt strange to Ginny to have two people staring so intensely at her. It felt strange to Ginny to hear only silence, and it felt strange to Ginny to know that her next words could have possibly a very great impact on the three of them in the room.

It seemed as though the intensity and the silence and the importance would call for an eloquent and organized speech, but at the moment and under such pressure, Ginny was neither.

"All right, so . . . it's like this," she began, regretting how eleven-year-old she sounded. "I mean, let me tell you what I have assessed of the situation." Okay, so now she was forty-two. "Let's just get to the point."

Draco's mouth curved slightly into the smallest of smiles as he watched her struggling to form her thoughts. "You don't have to trouble yourself with an hour-long speech," he said. "We don't mind if you just say, 'I choose Draco,' and be done with it."

Harry frowned at Draco's lightheartedness. "Malfoy, quite honestly, do shut up. The girl's trying to think."

And with that, Harry had decided for Ginny their fates. "Harry's right, Draco," she said, looking straight into his grey snake-scale eyes. "Do shut up." Her neutral facial expression belied her inner laughter.

His mouth uncurled and opened slightly, and he took on a slight drooping posture. He could communicate so much through his body language.

"But after I'm done with what I have to say, you can both have a go, if you'd like. Now, then. To business." _The business of my complicated love life_. Right. "Well, let's go back to last year, when Harry and I began dating. Harry was, in a word, sweet, even though he had so much on his plate. I couldn't understand how he could juggle everything _and_ be such a good boyfriend, but I accepted it as fact. And so we had some wonderful times together. Stargazing. Degnoming. Dying Easter eggs together.

"But that was spring and summer, and everything faded into autumn, and that's when I think that something changed. Harry got, for lack of a better word, _tired_. Tired of what? I don't know. School? The prophecy? He wouldn't tell me what caused those bags under his eyes, but we still were having a good time. A _great_ time. We would meet in secret places to chastely fulfill what, ah, teenage lust we could. And that was good.

"And then something . . . something strange happened. To be honest, I don't think it was erroneous mathematics that fooled Harry and Draco into switching rooms. I think perhaps something otherworldly, something _divine_ and _supernatural_, interfered with our lives that night. At first I responded with revulsion, because Draco was one of those people I just couldn't imagine myself liking.

"And then detention in the forest changed things more. Afterwards, I analyzed my actions and blamed them on lust and this tendency I have to want to help people out. I strive to be helpful to a fault sometimes. I play fixer-upper. There's something about hidden weaknesses that fascinates me, that, I don't know, _lures_ me to an otherwise seemingly strong person.

"Not to mention the fact that Harry had fallen under the spell of Cho. I use 'spell' loosely, because while she pretended to cast a love spell on him, I know that he was and will be inevitably drawn to her, for whatever reason. Fate? Destiny? Any one of those Divination terms could be applied to _that_ situation. But I lost Harry, and in his stead somebody new and unexpected came in. And things changed, and I changed, and this new person changed, and I discovered that not only was it lust and the need to be helpful that was driving me towards Draco, but I also found him to be . . . to be funny. And quirky. And strong, and intelligent, and all the things that Harry was - but in different ways. Ways that maybe fitted me better. I can't describe it, because I don't know what there is to describe.

"So much _drama_ has occurred this year. But I still wouldn't take back a second of it, because it's given me insight into my own self, and also human nature and - and - I don't know, it sounds lame and vague to say 'life,' but that's the only way I can describe it. I'm so awful talking like this, and I'm sorry, but I have to explain this thoroughly so there's no confusion. I just want to make it clear that _both_ Harry and Draco are big parts of my life. I can hear _both_ their voices in my head sometimes, and I have had _good_ times with _both_. _Both_ of them understand me, maybe in different ways, at different levels, but they both know me well and I know they both love me. But maybe they love me for different reasons.

"I honestly don't understand why Harry and Draco are drawn to me, at this exact point in my life. I can't help thinking that maybe there's some divine purpose behind this all, that it's all 'meant to be,' cliché as it sounds. And I hope I'm following the better path for all of us when I make my choice.

"Harry, I want you to know that I love you. And I treasure all the memories we've collected together, and I know you will still be my friend and confidante. It's unrelated, but I also think that I would probably only be a distraction to you during your training. Now, I don't want you to be heartbroken or whatever for my sake, because - I'm telling you this right now - I'm not _worth_ it. We are friends - _good_ friends, Harry - but I don't feel . . . electricity with you. I'm sorry for whatever I've done, and I know you're sorry for whatever you've done. I've already forgiven you; I ask that you forgive me. This is all in the past. Let us just love each other the best that good friends can."

From the second sentence of her address to him, Harry's face relaxed into resignation. Not weary resignation, as resignation is so often called, but almost relieved resignation. As if he expected this, or even wanted this.

Of course, at "Harry, I want you to know that I love you", Draco's heart began to palpitate out of disbelief and terror, and his jaw unhinged itself nearly to the floor. But at her next words, his heart began to palpitate even _more_ until he was sure that all his flesh was glowing pink with speeding blood, and he had to bite the inside of his lips to keep from smiling and bursting into song. He had a feeling he might begin to tap-dance as well, so he stepped on one foot with the other, knowing full well how utterly ridiculous he must have seemed.

Ginny turned to Draco and ignored his funny expression and wobbling posture. "Draco, I am _drawn_ to you. Even though I've known you for many years less than I've known Harry, I feel . . . I don't know. To quote a Muggle song, our . . . _togetherness_ emanates 'good vibrations.' It feels right to me. So this is what I choose. _Who_ I choose. And I look forward to everything that I could possibly look forward to."

And she smiled and simply gazed at Draco with the eyes of a decisive, confident woman, and he reached out and took her hand in his.

"Thank you for explaining things," was all he managed to say. "I know I'm probably supposed to say something a bit more romantic at this point, but um . . . Quite honestly, with all the drama going on in the Forbidden Forest and the bathrooms and the Quidditch pitch, I was definitely lost on what the heck was happening. But, ah, now I know, so . . . thanks."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Obviously, Draco, you've not seen many chick flicks. You're supposed to kiss the girl and say something stupid, like, 'I think I love you,' or 'Let's spend the rest of our lives together.' Ginny, how could you possibly choose somebody who only says 'Thank you' after you basically tell him you love him?" He said this with a half-smile. Good-naturedly.

"Well," she said, smiling bigger now, "saying 'Thank you' is better than saying something like, 'Actually, I'd hoped you _wouldn't_ choose me' or, 'Excuse me, I'm late for a shaving appointment.' All the same, Harry, thank you for taking this so well."

He cast his eyes down. "I guess I've been getting over you slowly ever since that midnight mix-up. I suppose I knew then that this is how things would turn out." He looked up again. "Ginny, I'll _probably_ see you again, but I'll write and all that. So, take care, love, and good luck. Er, bye, Malfoy. Bear in mind that this doesn't change a bit in the mutual hatred department." He shook Draco's hand, kissed Ginny on the cheek, and left the room.

"Well," said Draco, "for someone who claims to know what to do at moments like these, he's not very adept at it, is he? I mean, 'take care, love'? What's _that_? He's obviously supposed to lie prostrate on the floor and beg to be taken back. Seriously, he comes all the way back here to try to win you back, and wastes like three hours of _my_ time to explain to you that you're a hottie and he wants you, and then he just _leaves_ like - "

Ginny stopped his screed by grabbing his collar and pulling his face down to her (short) level. "Do you really plan on criticizing Harry's departure, or do you want to engage in something more interesting?"

"Engage me in something more interesting, please," he said as docilely as he could with his face mere centimeters from hers.

And so they kissed. And kissed. And kissed.

* * *

It was now fully winter, and the winter snow blanketed the campus. The outdoors looked beautiful, but the imminent exam week was closing in upon Hogwarts students, and their weekend was spent cooped up surrounded by books and parchment.

In the Gryffindor common room, Ginny stared out the window and sighed.

"Look, just two more hours of Herbology, then we can go out and play," Isabelle reasoned.

Doug, who was sitting cross-legged in his pajamas next to Isabelle on the floor, shook his head sadly. "And you call yourself her best friend. Obviously, she's not sighing because she wants to go out and have a snowball fight with us."

Ron rolled his eyes from the couch across the room. "Please don't tell me you're heartsick because you haven't seen _him_ in all of four hours."

Ginny turned from the window and glared at her brother. "Hermione," she called, "please do me a favor and whack him on the head."

A book flew out from behind the ever-present mound of parchment on the corner table and hit Ron dead in the face. "Oh, sorry," came Hermione's voice, not sounding apologetic at all. "I was aiming for the back of your head, but you turned."

He rubbed his nose spitefully. "That hurt! You need to stop throwing things at me, 'Mione. Yesterday, your hairbrush. Today, your Potions book. What next? Crookshanks?"

"I would _never_ throw Crookshanks," the parchment mountain replied haughtily. "And anyway, I'm not the only one who's been throwing things at you. Remember that spoonful of stew a certain sister of yours chucked at your freckly forehead?"

"That was ages ago!" Ginny protested, turning away from the window again.

Isabelle and Doug were giggling at the mere memory.

"Ah, but it hasn't lost its humor, now, has it?" Doug sniggered.

"Maybe, but _you_ two laugh at freakin' - at freakin' _Mickey Mouse pancakes_!" Ron shot back, by way of a comeback.

"Is that so wrong?" Isabelle questioned innocently. "To be amused by breakfast foods?"

"No, but Ronsie has a point," Hermione said, peering out from behind her schoolwork. "I mean, it's fine to have fun at breakfast or what have you . . . but having a Gryffindor Pancake Decorating Contest? Dipping into the school budget to buy yourselves whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles?"

"So?" said Doug. "What can I say? Maybe I'll work at a pancake place after I graduate."

"There's an ambitious job for you," Ron said mockingly.

"Look, are we studying or not?" Ginny suddenly asked from her seat by the window.

"Whoa," said Isabelle. "Whoa. Yeah, we can if you like, but isn't it much more fun to fight about pancakes?"

"Not really," Ginny replied honestly. "No offense, but I don't share your or Doug's enthusiasm for the wonders of pancakehood."

Hermione tut-tutted and shook her head in pity. "Look, if you want to hang out with Ferret - "

"Draco!"

" - then don't feel as though you have to stay and study for these exams which may very well shape your career and even your entire life," she finished with a frown.

"Really? All right, I'm going to go outside for a bit, then," Ginny said happily, shutting her textbook shut with finality. She disappeared to her room to prepare herself for the cold outside, then waddled out with as much dignity as she could, considering the weight of the clothes on her body. "Bye!" And out the portrait hole she went.

"Now _that_ is a hot outfit," said Doug sarcastically.

"Hey! Better be careful, or else Malfoy might give you a shiner," Isabelle teased.

"I suppose it _is_ handy to have another buff male on hand," Hermione mused.

"Now that Harry's gone?" Ron filled in the blank for her quietly. Doug and Isabelle both looked up from their papers. Harry was rarely talked about in the Gryffindor common room, for some reason. He had begun to send letters to Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, and though they were friendly letters, they were frustratingly vague. Ron and Hermione had taken his absence well, although leaning much more heavily on each other now that their middleman was gone. And Ginny - well, Ginny had Draco.

"Do you think Harry would've stayed if Ginny had decided to go back to him and not Malfoy?" Isabelle wondered.

"No," said Ron thoughtfully. "I think he would have done the right thing and prepared himself for the fulfillment of his prophecy."

"Ah, the ever-loyal friend," Hermione said.

"What? Why, what do _you_ think he would have done?"

"I don't doubt his courage or strength of character," she said slowly, "but Ginny meant a lot more to him than he let on."

"How do you know?" Doug asked.

"Well, you could just tell. And we once talked about it, back when they were dating. But I think that Ginny made the right choice, much as it pains me that we have to see more of Ferret-face than we had to before."

Ron sighed. "Who would have thought . . . _And_ they're related!"

"Very distantly," Isabelle reminded him.

"Yeah, but still, it's gross . . . "

"Even so," Doug said with a glad smile, "I think they're happy together."

* * *

The blond emerged first from the castle, moving his bundled legs stiffly and peering at the bright world through expensive wraparound sunglasses. "Not too cold," he said loudly through the cloth over his mouth.

"Are you sure? Last time it snowed here, Care of Magical Creatures nearly killed me dead." The redhead stood on tiptoes to peek over his shoulder to observe things herself.

The boy sighed. "Have you learned _nothing_ about boyfriends? Look, I've said it before, and I'll say it again. As an official boyfriend, I am fully capable of keeping you warm."

"What, did you sign a boyfriend contract, or something?"

"Yes, and it was first clause. Are you going to set foot in the snow, or not?"

"I'd actually rather go to the kitch - _oof_!" Splat. "Draco!" she shrieked after being tossed effortlessly into the powder. "Snow - d-down my shirt - oh, g-goodness! You are d-definitely getting p-payback, my friend - "

He jumped into the snow next to her with a great laugh. "Look, look, I'm swimming! I can do the butterfly stroke, did you know?" He demonstrated.

"Well, aren't you just full o' wonders," she teased, scooping the snow out of her collar and flinging it at him. "What other amazing talents are in your possession?"

"Now that you ask . . . " he began, trying to think of things he was good at. "Well, besides being the evil Potions TA, I can ride a mean toboggan, if I do say so myself."

" . . . You can ride a mean toboggan."

"Yeah, that's right. Do I sense a toboggan-off challenge?"

Ginny threw back her head and laughed into the wintry sun. "Only if you wish to lose!"

"The toboggan-off has begun!" he declared, and stomped through the snow towards the Quidditch supply shack, where he knew some other sports equipment was stored. Ginny, who had found a pair of tennis rackets in her trunk, strapped the rackets to her feet like snowshoes and sped past Draco to the supply shed.

"Cheater!" he yelled weakly. "I've got the gloves, anyway."

Upon arrival at the shed, he twitched his finger twice and produced a skeleton key attached to the fingertip. "Time to see if it works here, too," he mumbled, and thrust it into the shed's lock. It popped open as if by magic - which, he reminded himself, it probably was. The three feet or so of snow that had built up outside the door fell into the shack when the door opened, causing Ginny to grab onto Draco for balance in the sudden tiny avalanche.

He smirked. "Let's leave that until _after_ the toboggan-off, all right, O lusty one? No touchy."

She grinned. "Oh, I see right through your toboggan-off façade. You just want me to roll down a hill with you."

"Of course, because everyone knows that rolling down hills with people is _such_ a lecherous thing to do." He allowed her to hit him in the ribs. "Ow. See any snow stuff in here?"

She pointed to the falling-down sign in the back that read, in hand-printed letters, "SNOW STUFF HERE" with a shaky arrow.

"Right." He stepped through cases of Quidditch equipment to the back of the shed and pulled out two very dusty toboggans. "Want the, uh, two-person one as well?"

She merely smirked back at him, so he brought it.

"You know," he said, struggling to keep up with Ginny's makeshift snowshoes as they climbed a large hill, "you've become quite the smirker."

"I learn from only the best," she replied airily. "Everyone knows that Slytherin is known mostly for its smirks."

"So then what's Gryffindor known for?"

She unstrapped her tennis rackets from her feet, raising her eyebrow coyly at him. "Well, that's for _me_ to know and _you_ to find out."

He snickered and lowered himself into his toboggan. "What is it, then, cake decorating?"

She laughed aloud again and tried to hit him on the head with her toboggan. "No, you moron! I was trying to be innuendo-y!"

"Innuendo-y?"

"Shut up! I'm trying, okay?" He wouldn't stop laughing, so with her foot she pushed his toboggan down the hill.

"Aaaiiiii!" he yelled, right before the toboggan hit a lump in the snow and pitched him into the bushes.

"You all right?" Ginny called out of girlfriendly concern.

But no answer came from the clump of bushes.

"Oi, Draco! You all right? . . . Stop playing around! Draco? Come - aaahhh!" She found herself being attacked by a bear -

or at least by a blond lunatic who was laughing maniacally as they rolled lumpily down the hill together. "Ah-hahahaha! You said you wanted to roll down hills!"

She spat a mouthful of snow at his sunglasses. "You are _such_ an immature _two-_year-old!"

The hill smoothed out into a flat plane of snow. "I know," he said proudly as they slowed to a stop. "And you love me for it." They were intertwined - that is, limbs and jackets were tangled hopelessly into one large, snow-covered mass. It wasn't quite the romantic hill-rolling scene Ginny had envisioned, but it would have to do.

"You're right," Ginny replied with a rosy-cheeked smile. "It's true. I can't deny it."

He buried his cold face in her neck suddenly, causing her to scream once more, this time at the icy tip of his nose. "Sorry," he said in a muffled voice. "It's just that you looked all warm and cozy."

"What, now _I'm_ keeping you warm?"

"Is this a problem?" He emerged from her hair with a very adorable grin and pulled his sunglasses off, the better to gaze into her beautiful eyes.

Ginny blushed at the look on his face. "I am _so_ glad that I chose you."

"So am I," he murmured, planting a soft kiss on her forehead. "Why did you, anyway?"

"I thought I told you."

"Tell me again. You know how self-absorbed I am."

"Oh, right. Well, Draco, I don't know if you remember, but Harry referred to me every now and then as 'the girl,' which bugged me, but I didn't know why. It kind of occurred to me, in the Room of Requirement, that it irked me because I didn't feel valued enough. Which I know is a selfish thing to say, but the only reason we'd meet at nights is because he always had Quidditch during the day, or studying with Ron and Hermione, or going to secret meetings with Dumbledore and other people. But that's just why I _didn't_ choose Harry. Enough about him.

"I chose _you_ because I felt like I was drawn to you, and I knew that I'd regret it if I chose Harry instead. And you, you know, you've changed a bit since your Amazing Bouncing Ferret days. You can still be the cold and evil Slytherin to the first-years, but _I_ know that you're really this sweet and funny and warm and smart and - well, amazingly _hot_ guy. And I've changed, too. Maybe this is thanks to Mabel, and to you, of course - but more and more, I'm learning not to get so stressed out over things beyond my control."

He took off a glove to stroke her face. She winced at first, expecting an ice-cold hand, but his touch was warm and gentle, albeit a bit callused as boys' hands are. She loved him for it, and leaned her face toward his hand with a sigh.

"Yeah," murmured Draco, "I'm learning to go with the flow as well. I mean, of course there are things I've got to fight for - you, for example - and I've got to work hard at things like school and Quidditch . . . but it's useless to be such a tightwad all the time. It is thanks to _you_, dearest Ginevra" - kiss on the nose - "that I've been able to loosen up a little. A lot, maybe."

Ginny tightened her arms around his middle, and they just held each other for a few comfortable moments.

Then - "Unless you really want to have a toboggan-off, we should probably go inside," she said into his ear. "You can help me study." Wink.

"What is it with you and innuendo today?" he laughed, helping her to her feet.

She began to walk towards the castle, but he took her hand again. "Wait," he said, "there's something I want to show you."

Her eyebrows arched. "Really. Is it a shiny mineral, perhaps?" asked Ginny hopefully.

"Uhh, if you're asking if I'm giving you precious jewels, no," he replied unsurely. "But I've got something you'll appreciate. Do you trust me?"

"Well, obviously, but - "

" 'Cause we're going into the Forbidden Forest." He looked back to see her face a shade whiter. "Oh, come on, it's midday, and there aren't any teachers out here to catch us. Anyway, it's not far in. Come on."

"All right, but if I get devoured by a - a saber-toothed tiger or something, it'll all be your fault."

"If only we lived a couple thousand years ago so that your threat would be valid. They're extinct, dearest. Hurry up, now, slowpoke. I thought your snowshoes helped."

She rolled her eyes and leaned her head on his shoulder. "They do. Only they're back on that hill. Come on, tell me where we're going. The Forest creeps me out."

He led her silently down a vaguely familiar path through the thick trees and berry bushes. There wasn't much snow on the Forest floor, because the dense tree branches above collected it all and it melted before it could drop to the ground. She tried to remember where the path led, but all she could recall was that one detention they'd served months ago. But there wasn't anything of interest in the forest then . . .

"Okay, close your eyes," he ordered, and was satisfied when she did so. "You won't trip, the path's pretty smooth here. A little to your left . . . " He led her deeper into the Forest. "Just a bit further . . . Okay - open them."

She opened them and gasped in surprise. "Oh, Draco! This is _beautiful_!"

For in place of that large patch of gold-spotted toadstools where they'd kissed for the second time, a small field of flowers had inexplicably sprouted, in the middle of winter. Daisies, daffodils, irises, and tulips all smiled at her, and she knelt down to smell the flowers and finger their petals to ensure their authenticity.

"How did you find this?" she asked breathlessly, standing up so she could hug him again.

"I was flying my broomstick over here the other day, and saw it," he answered, "and I thought of you."

"This . . . this is amazing. This is incredible. I hereby declare this to be the Draco and Ginny Flower Field of Love," she announced to the Forest.

He laughed into her hair and swayed with her a bit. "I knew you'd like it."

She kissed him on his left cheek. "Thank you for showing me this. It basically just made my month." She kissed him on his right cheek. "By the way, your nose is still adorably crooked."

He restrained the urge to feel his nose again and kept his hands on Ginny's back. "Yes, well . . . It's a small price to pay for such a treasure as you."

"Flattery gets you nowhere," she chastised him sweetly.

"But what about faulty arithmetic?"

"Well," she considered, "perhaps that's different."

And she kissed him full on his mouth.

So ends the adventure of the midnight mix-up . . . Or should I say, so it begins.

* * *

**A/N:** Oh, yes. You're all jealous of my clinching one-liner right there. "So it begins." coughLOTR ripoffcough I . . . am amazing. Just kidding, but it's still an okay ending line, right?

**THANK YOU, ALL MY FABULOUS READERS AND REVIEWERS!** I love you all with the love of a thousand puppy dogs!

**YES, this is the very, very end of Midnight Mix-Up**. I doubt that I'll write a sequel, but maybe. I'm thinking that the plot could be that Draco's working at a store in Diagon Alley and a coworker tries to seduce him, and so _he_ has to choose between this coworker and Ginny . . . Ehhh . . . Once you get past the falling-in-love bit, the rest is kind of boring, cynical as that sounds.

But I digress. I'm glad that I've finally ended this story, nearly two years after I began it. Has it really been that long? I suppose so. You can kind of tell that I've gotten older. I wrote in a more silly, more cliché way back in '03, and these last few chapters are a bit more serious/thoughful, wouldn't you say?

So, thanks for sticking with me. **Please forgive me** for being such a fickle updater. I'm a horrible excuse for a fanfiction writer who dreams of regular readers. But thank you for reviewing me anyway! All of you! All - as of now - 152 of you! Okay, so maybe more like 50, what with multiple postings. I looked back and someone had once posted the same thing like 15 times. I never deleted any because it boosted my review numbers, mahaha. But still. I'm amazed at you guys.

* * *

THANK-YOUS for Chapter 15 reviews:

**Alatariel97:** Gracias por escribiendo (or just escribir?) tu . . . uh . . . review! Yo espero que te guste el . . . ending. Gah, there goes two years of Spanish instruction, right out la ventana! I suppose it's better that I write in English. Anyway, muchas gracias for reading, y mas gracias for your reviews!

**San-lee:** Thanks for pointing that out! Wow. Eagle eye. I fixed it, because ew, what a heinous error. Thank you muchly for your lovely review!

**RumorGoddess:** I swear, every other review has told me the exact same thing, that they raise their eyebrow too! We're not nerds, it's just that we get into stories, you know? I suppose that's a good thing. But who knew that the Eyebrow Epidemic was so widespread? Anyway, thanks for reviewing!

**Akarusa30991:** Really? I totally thought my readers would have no doubt that Draco would be the winner. Cool. Tee-hee, thanks for your faith in my ending! Hope it was satisfactory. If not, I'll rewrite it. Thank you for your review!

**My Dream's Shadow:** Oooh, lovely mysterious username. I updated soon, especially for you! ;) I hope you liked it. Thanks for reviewing and urging me to update, because goodness knows I need it!

**Surely-not-I:** As you can see, I updated. I hope you like it! Thanks for reviewing. Oh, and your username made me chortle.

**Ediblemongoose:** Oh, no, you're dying of suspense? Here, let me fetch you the antidote - the next and final chapter, quick as I possibly can! . . . Feel better? I hope so. :P Thanks for your review! And grrrreat username. Do you know, the only place I've ever seen mongooses (mongeese?) is in Hawaii? True fact. And now you know.

**Toby Keith Fanatic:** Glad to hear you and your ex made peace! Hopefully he was as peaceful as Harry was. I don't quite know how Harry took it so well (even though I _am_ the author), but OK. Thank you for your compliments and your review!

**Chiyoko:** Oh, but I _do_ love a cliffhanger ending. Except for this one. I had to leave you all happy and satisfied because it is, after all, the end. Thanks for reviewing and for urging me to update!

**To all my ghost readers, aka readers who don't review:** Thank you for reading all the way to the end! Wow, you guys must have, like, eyes of steel. I hope you all take breaks. Anyway, thanks, and feel free to leave a review! In other words . . . Leave a review dangnabbit! Kidding, kidding. Leave one only if you feel so inclined.

THANK YOU FOR READING THIS FAR!

I love you all!

Goodnight!

Love,

Toastsnatcher

**PS)** If you spot any errors, please point them out to me so that I can go back and fix them. I absolutely hate spelling/grammar/etc errors in my work, sooo anything you can do to help would be great. Thanks:)


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